Fort Nelson, built in 1781 by troops under

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American military officer and surveyor from Virginia who became the highest-ranking Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot military officer on the American frontier, nort ...

including Captain Richard Chenoweth, was the second on-shore fort on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

in the area of what is now

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

Fort-on-Shore Fort Nelson, built in 1781 by troops under George Rogers Clark including Captain Richard Chenoweth, was the second on-shore fort on the Ohio River in the area of what is now downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Fort-on-Shore, the downriver and first ...

, the downriver and first on-shore fort, had proved to be insufficient barely three years after it was established. In response to continuing attacks from Native Americans and the threat of

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

attacks during the Revolutionary War, Fort Nelson was constructed between what is currently Main Street and the river, with its main gate near Seventh Street. It was named after

Thomas Nelson Jr. Thomas Nelson Jr. (December 26, 1738 – January 4, 1789) was a Founding Father of the United States, general in the Revolutionary War, member of the Continental Congress, and a Virginia planter. In addition to serving many terms in the Virgi ...

, then the governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. (Kentucky was part of Virginia at the time.) The fort was used as a courthouse and jail until one was built. The fort was garrisoned until the building of Fort Finney across the river at the site of what is today

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio Riv ...

about 1784. Ironically, the fort was built late in the Revolutionary War when the need for it had almost disappeared. By the late 1780s there were reports that the fort had been abandoned and was in poor condition. Fort Nelson Park stands in the vicinity today, a

pocket park A pocket park (also known as a parkette, mini-park, vest-pocket park or vesty park) is a small park accessible to the general public. While the locations, elements, and uses of pocket parks vary considerably, the common defining characteristic of ...

housing a granite monument commemorating the fort.

Fort-on-Shore

Fort-on-Shore (), built in 1778 by William Linn, was the first on-shore fort on the

in the area of what is now downtown Louisville. George Rogers Clark had directed Linn to move the militia post to the mainland from its original off-shore location at Corn Island. The fort was located near the current intersection of Twelfth and Rowan Streets.

References

* *

External links

Fort Nelson Park
at the

Historical Marker Database The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org) is an online database that documents locations of numerous historical markers and commemorative plaques in the United States as well as other countries. The database was launched in 2006 by computer progra ...

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Former buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky

History of Louisville, Kentucky Pre-statehood history of Kentucky Kentucky in the American Revolution Military installations established in 1781 1781 establishments in Virginia {{Louisville-struct-stub

Fort-on-Shore

See also

References

External links