| Fort Dummer State Park | |
|---|---|
 Fort Dummer Monument | |
 | |
| Type | State park |
| Location | 517 Old Guilford Road Brattleboro, Vermont |
| Area | 217 acres (88 ha) |
| Operated by | Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation |
| Open | Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day weekend |
| Website | https://vtstateparks.com/fortdummer.html |
Fort Dummer was built in the winter of 1724 in what is now the Town of Brattleboro in southeastern Vermont. Today, it is notable as the first permanent European settlement in Vermont.[1] The original site of the fort is now lost below the waters of the Connecticut River impoundment of the Vernon Dam.
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Road to Independence - Fort Hill
Transcription
March 4th, 1776. General John Thomas brings some of the artillery that Henry Knox had taken from Fort Ticonderoga and he brings it here. 360 ox and about twelve hundred men, and eight hundred soldiers fortify these heights. The next morning, March 5th, General Howe and the British fleet wake up to discover that Washington's army now has them within artillery range. The British in downtown Boston, the British fleet in the harbor, and Castle Island about two and a half miles that way, now within sight of these American artillery. Washington exhorts the men saying, "You men of Boston, will you allow them to triumph on the 5th of March?" And of course they wouldn't, because they all knew what the 5th of March meant; it was the anniversary of the bloody massacre of 1770. These men were prepared. General Howe was also prepared, he tries to launch a counterattack to take the heights from the Americans. But a nor'easter blows up, prevents Howe's man from landing, and he realizes his only choice is to evacuate Boston. He begins the preparations, loading artillery onto the boats, loading man, actually loading civilians onto the boats so the British can evacuate. And on March 17th, 1776 the last British troops step off of Long Wharf onto their transports, and begin dropping down the harbor. The password in Washington's camp that week was "Saint Patrick," they knew what March 17th was, and they also knew that this was the first American victory in the War for Independence. Congress commissions a gold medal for General Washington for having liberated Boston, and three months later Congress declares independence from Great Britain. This marks a new beginning for America, a new beginning for Boston, as the British have left and Boston is now a town in an independent republic in an independent nation.
Establishment
Fort Dummer was a British colonial fort built during Dummer's War by the militia of the Province of Massachusetts Bay under the command of Lieutenant Timothy Dwight[2] in what is now the Town of Brattleboro, in southeastern Vermont. This was in the heart of one of the three main sections of the Equivalent Lands.[3]
The fort was the first permanent European settlement in Vermont. It consisted of a 180-square foot (17 m²) wooden stockade with 12 guns manned by 55 men (43 Massachusetts militiamen and 12 Mohawk warriors). It was named after Lieutenant Governor William Dummer, who was acting governor of Massachusetts at the time of the fort's construction.
On October 11, 1724, seventy Abenakis attacked Fort Dummer and killed 3 or 4 militiamen in the only known military action involving the stockade.[4]
Near the former site of the fort is a granite monument, which is one mile (2 km) south of the Brattleboro railway station.
Fort Dummer State Park
Fort Dummer State Park is part of the Vermont State Park system. It comprises 217 acres (878,000 m²) of forest in Brattleboro, Guilford & Vernon.
The park overlooks the former site of Fort Dummer which was flooded when the Vernon Dam was built on the Connecticut River in 1908. The granite monument that commemorates the fort is not within the borders of the park. The monument itself was moved in 1908 to prevent it from being lost after the dam was completed. The original site of the fort can be seen from the northernmost scenic vista on the Sunrise Trail within the park. It is now underwater near the lumber company located on the western bank of the river.[citation needed]
Campground facilities include 50 tent/trailer sites and 10 lean-to sites, toilet buildings with hot showers, and a sanitary dump station.[5] Other facilities include a small picnic area, three short hiking trails, one of which leads to a swimming hole, and a large open field.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ "Vermont State Parks - Fort Dummer".
- ^ Note: Timothy Dwight of Northhampton, Massachusetts
- ^ Equivalent Lands; webpage; Vermont History on-line; accessed April 26, 2020
- ^ Brattleboro History - WordPress & Atahualpa 2012
- ^ "Fort Dummer State Park". Vermont State Parks. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Fort Dummer State Park". Oh Ranger. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Fort Dummer State Park". Trail Finder. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
External links
This page was last edited on 21 June 2023, at 05:20