A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added.

United States

In the United States, historically a fortified house was often called a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

or station depending on the region. This was a building built for defense against primarily

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

attacks in frontier areas. While some fortified houses were sometimes used by

militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, state and federal military units, their primary purpose was for private or civilian defense. Sometimes a stockade would surround the building(s). Examples of historic private or civilian fortified houses built include; * Fort Nelson and Floyd's Station and Low Dutch Station all in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. * Mormon Fort and Mormon Station in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. * Fort Buenaventura,

Cove Fort Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley (the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley) at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distinctiv ...

Fort Deseret Fort Deseret () is a former fort located in northeastern Millard County, Utah, United States, just south of Deseret. __TOC__ Description The fort was built in 1865 during the Utah Black Hawk War to protect settlers in western Utah from the ...

, and

Fort Utah Fort Utah (also known as Fort Provo) was the original white settlement at Provo, Utah, United States, and was established March 12, 1849. The original settlers were President John S. Higbee and about 30 families or 150 persons that were sent fr ...

all in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. * Carpenter's Fort in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In the present day, fortified houses are houses with

physical security Physical security describes security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment and resources and to protect personnel and property from damage or harm (such as espionage, theft, or terrorist attacks). Physica ...

features, including using enhanced locks, security bars, solid core or metal doors, perimeter alarms, cameras, security guards to deter or delay assault.

References

Castles by type {{fort-type-stub

United States

See also

References