"Fort Decker" is a

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

built in 1793 from the remains of the

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

of that name. It is located on West Main Street in

Port Jervis, New York Port Jervis, named after John Bloomfield Jervis, a Roman civil engineer who oversaw the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, ...

, United States, the oldest building in that city, which it predates by several decades. The original Fort Decker was built by a Frederick Haynes, a Dutch settler, sometime before 1760, during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, as an unofficial defense and trading post. It was one and a half stories high, built of stone and overlapping logs. Haynes left the area for

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

around 1775, leaving the fort to his wife's family, the Deckers. The fort is named for Lt. Martinus Decker, great grandson of Jan Gerritsen Decker, the first Decker to live in the Minisink Valley. On July 19, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, when the settlement was known as "Peenpack", the fort was burned during a raid by pro-British Native American leader

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

. When survivors brought news of the disaster to Goshen, the Patriot attempt to retaliate led to a disastrous defeat at the

Battle of Minisink The Battle of Minisink took place during the American Revolutionary War at Minisink Ford, New York, on July 22, 1779. It was the only major skirmish of the Revolutionary War fought in the upper Delaware River valley. The battle was a decisive Ir ...

, the only major engagement of the war in the upper

Delaware Valley The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

. The current house was built from the remains of the fort in 1793. In 1826, it would house engineers working on the

Delaware and Hudson Canal The Delaware and Hudson Canal was the first venture of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, which would later build the Delaware and Hudson Railway. Between 1828 and 1899, the canal's barges carried anthracite coal from the mines of northeast ...

, including John Jervis, whom the city would later be renamed for. It remained in private hands as a residence from then on. In 1903, newspapers reported that the original roof was being removed, and in 1924 the building suffered partial damage from a fire. As early as the 1880s, there had been interest in using the structure as a museum. This did not become possible until 1958, when the Minisink Valley Historical Society bought it for $1,000 and converted it into a museum. In 1974 it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, the first of three buildings in Port Jervis to attain that distinction, the others being the Erie Depot and the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

References

External links

Fort Decker Museum of History
operated by the Minisink Valley Historical Society {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Houses in Orange County, New York Museums in Orange County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, New York Houses completed in 1793 Decker Port Jervis, New York Historic house museums in New York (state) Historical society museums in New York (state)

See also

References

External links