Fort Allen (Pennsylvania)

For the Puerto Rico National Guard base, see Fort Allen (Puerto Rico).
Fort Allen
Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania in United States
Type Military Fort
Site history
Built 1774

Fort Allen was a structure, built in 1774 in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, for protection from Indian attacks.

Roughly 800 pioneer settlers in Hempfield, a large number of them German, had petitioned the colonial government for aid and protection from Indian attacks. In response to that, Fort Allen was built.[1] It is believed that Fort Allen was named for Andrew Allen of the state's then governing body, the Supreme Executive Council. The fort was commanded by Col. Christopher Truby (in one source, spelled "Trubee"). Fort Allen was a frontier fort for Dunmore's War in 1774 and the American Revolutionary War. It was also known as Truby's Blockhouse. It was never involved in an emergency.

There is a stone monument commemorating Fort Allen. The monument was erected on May 1, 1929 and is located on the grounds of St. John's Harrold United Church of Christ at the corner of St. John's Church Road and Baltzer Meyer Pike, which is 150 yards north of where the fort was located. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a roadside marker on December 12, 1946 at the intersection of Route 136 and Baltzer Meyer Pike. The roadside marker says, "Frontier post built by Pennsylvania German pioneers of the Harrold's and Brush Creek settlements in 1774. It was a refuge from Indians in Dunmore's War and the American Revolution. The site was a little to the south."[2]

In modern times, the area surrounding the site of the fort has grown into an expansive neighborhood of Hempfield Township, with streets named after various Native American tribes. Fort Allen Elementary School, built in 1952 and part of the Hempfield Area School District, was also named after the fort.

References

  1. ↑ Rupp, 119
  2. ↑ "Fort Allen - Plaque -". Waymarking.com. 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.

Sources

Coordinates: 40°16′45″N 79°35′30″W / 40.27905°N 79.59163°W / 40.27905; -79.59163

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