Fort Howard was a 19th-century

fortification 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'' ...

in the north central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, built by the U.S. Army. It was located along the west bank of the Fox River in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea l ...

History

Along with

Fort Crawford Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during the 19th century. The army's occupation of Prairie du Chien spanned the existence of two fortifications, both of them named Fort Crawford. The ...

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest cit ...

, Fort Howard was constructed during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

to protect the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, an important regional trade and travel route between

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

, from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

invasion. The fort was built at the site of the earlier French

Fort La Baye Fort La Baye was a French military post at La Baye (today Green Bay, Wisconsin), originally built in 1684, remodeled in 1717, and occupied until 1760. One Commandant of the Fort was the famous Chevalier Jacques Testard de Montigny, Knight of the ...

(and renamed Fort Edward Augustus by the British in 1761). The initial estimate of its building cost was $16,644.70
(Military History of the Upper Great Lakes)
For a time it was commanded by

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. During an outbreak of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

in 1820, the garrison moved to

Camp Smith Camp H. M. Smith is a United States Marine Corps installation in the Hawaiian town of Aiea on the island of Oahu, near the community of Halawa (ha-LA-va) Heights. It is the headquarters of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), Spe ...

on higher ground nearby. Fort Howard was reoccupied two years later. Abandoned again in 1841, when the garrison was sent to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

during the

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

, the fort was officially decommissioned in 1853. In 1863, the United States government granted land to the States of Michigan and Wisconsin for construction of a military road between Fort Howard and Fort Wilikins near Copper Harbor, Michigan. This road was completed in 1872. Following the fort's closure its buildings fell into decay. Several structures were subsequently removed to the Camp Smith site, where they are now part of the

Heritage Hill State Historical Park Heritage Hill State Historical Park, is a 56-acre open-air museum located in Allouez, Wisconsin near Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the United States. A Wisconsin state park, the site is operated by a non-profit organization called the Heritage Hill C ...

. Three of the fort's remaining structures are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

: the hospital,

hospital ward A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergenc ...

, and officers' quarters.

Later use of name

In the 20th century, the

Fort Howard Paper Company Fort Howard Paper Company was an American pulp and paper company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Its products were sold under a variety of brand names, including ''Envision'', ''Fort Howard'', ''Mardi Gras'', and ''Soft'n Gentle''. The company mer ...

was a

pulp and paper The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web a ...

manufacturer based in Green Bay, founded by Austin E. Cofrin in 1919. It merged with

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Ches ...

in 1997 to form

Fort James Corporation Fort James Corporation was an American pulp and paper company based in Deerfield, Illinois. Its products were sold under a variety of brand names, which included Brawny, Mardi Gras, and Quilted Northern. At the time of its acquisition, Fort ...

and became part of

Georgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, toilet and paper towel dispensers, packaging, building products and ...

in 2000.

Images

File:Fort Howard Company Kitchen and Orderly Room Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg, Kitchen File:Fort Howard Hospital Restorations June 2014.jpg, Hospital during 2014 restoration File:FortHowardOfficersQuartersDiningArea.jpg, Dining area in Officers' Quarters File:Fort Howard Officers Quarters June 2014 at Heritage Hill State Historic Park.jpg, Side of Officers' Quarters File:FortHowardPanoramaSoutheast.jpg, Looking southeast at courtyard File:FortHowardYardPanoramaNorthwest.jpg, Looking northwest across courtyard File:Fort Howard Post School June 2014 Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg, School File:FortHowardHospitalWardHeritageHill.jpg,

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

File:Guard House from Fort Howard during 2014 construction at Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg, Guard house during 2014 reconstruction

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Heritage Hill State Historical Park

Buildings and structures in Brown County, Wisconsin

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...

1816 establishments in Illinois Territory Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin Zachary Taylor Fox–Wisconsin Waterway 1853 disestablishments in Wisconsin