While New England has a veritable monopoly on American Revolutionary War history, Ohio played a significant role in the War for Independence. Today, visitors can broaden their understanding of this pivotal time in U.S. history by visiting Fort Laurens, Ohio’s only Revolutionary War-era fort. Constructed in 1778, Fort Laurens lies two hours from Columbus and a little over an hour from Youngstown, in Bolivar. The fortification served as a short-lived outpost designed to defend American interests in the area that would become Ohio.
“It was envisioned as a base for a planned campaign against the British at Detroit. It was also intended to deter Indigenous Nations who were defending their homelands amid ongoing conflict with American expansion,” per Ohio History Connection, the organization that oversees the historic site. Featuring a square-shaped design, the fort was constructed from wood in only 10 days and housed 150 soldiers during the winter of 1779. After enduring months of starvation and joint British-indigenous attacks, the Continental Army decided to abandon Fort Laurens one year after its construction, ostensibly because it was too far from Detroit to serve its strategic purpose.
Today, all that’s left of Fort Laurens is a faint outline of the original structure — no buildings, earthwork fortifications, or artillery. In order to create the Ohio-Erie Canal, engineers had to demolish what was left of the original fort in 1832. However, visitors can learn about its historical significance at the museum and pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Patriot.
Join archeology digs and watch reenactments at the Fort Laurens Museum
Any visit to Fort Laurens should start at the museum. Although small compared to the most visited museums in Washington, D.C., this interpretive space displays items dug directly from the site through public archaeology projects. On Public Archaeology Days, visitors can work side-by-side with professional archaeologists and literally dig through the past…