Fort Dummer was built in the winter of 1724 in what is now the
Town of Brattleboro in southeastern
Vermont
Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. Today, it is notable as the first permanent
European settlement in Vermont. The original site of the fort is now lost below the waters of the
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...
impoundment of the
Vernon Dam.
Establishment
Fort Dummer was a British colonial fort built during
Dummer's War by the militia of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...
under the command of Lieutenant Timothy Dwight 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.
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.
Near the former site of the fort is a
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
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
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
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.
Campground facilities include 50 tent/trailer sites and 10 lean-to sites, toilet buildings with hot showers, and a sanitary dump station. Other facilities include a small picnic area, three short hiking trails, one of which leads to a swimming hole, and a large open field.
See also
*
Fort at Number 4
References
External links
Fort Dummer State Park
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State parks of Vermont
Dummer
Buildings and structures in Brattleboro, Vermont
Protected areas of Windham County, Vermont
Dummer
Dummer
1724 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay
Government buildings completed in 1724
Military installations established in 1724