Fort Ouiatenon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort Ouiatenon |
|
|---|---|
| West Lafayette, Indiana | |
The replica of the blockhouse
|
|
| Type | Fort |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | New France; Great Britain; First Nations |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1717 |
| In use | 1717–1763 |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
François-Marie Bissot(Fr); Edward Jenkins(Br) |
|
Fort Ouiatenon Archeological District
|
|
Fields at the site
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Nearest city | Lafayette, Indiana |
| Area | 17.5 acres (7.1 ha) |
| Built | 1717 |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000008, 100006239 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 16, 1970 |
| Designated NHLD | January 13, 2021 |
Fort Ouiatenon was a special place built way back in 1717. It was the very first European settlement with defenses in what we now call Indiana, United States. Imagine a strong fence made of tall logs (a palisade stockade) with a log building (a blockhouse) inside. This was a French trading post right on the Wabash River. It was about three miles southwest of where West Lafayette is today.
The name 'Ouiatenon' comes from the Wea language, waayaahtanonki, which means 'place of the whirlpool'. This fort was one of three French forts built in the 1700s in a huge area then called New France. This area later became the Northwest Territory and is now the state of Indiana. The other two forts were Fort Miami and Fort Vincennes. A large French community grew up around Fort Ouiatenon.
After the French and Indian War, the fort was given to the British. They later left it. Then, Native American tribes used it. In 1791, American soldiers destroyed it during the Northwest Indian War. It was never an American fort. The original spot was found again in the 1960s. Today, it's an important archaeological site.
Every year, usually in late September or October, a fun event called the Feast of the Hunters' Moon takes place. It's a reenactment of pioneer life held at a replica of the fort. This replica is built a short distance from the original site.
Contents
The French Build a Fort
Fort Ouiatenon was first built by the government of New France. It was a military outpost meant to protect against Great Britain trying to expand westward. The fort was in the wild woodlands of the Wabash River valley. This made it a key spot for fur trappers. French traders from Quebec came to Fort Ouiatenon. They wanted beaver pelts and to trade with the local Wea Native American tribes.
In 1717, a French officer named Ensign François Picote de Beletre arrived. He came with soldiers, workers, and a blacksmith. They brought supplies to trade with the nearby Wea people. The Wea were an Algonquian-speaking nation, close to the Miami people. The French built a strong fence (stockade) on the Wabash River. Later, François-Marie Bissot, the Sieur de Vincennes took command of the fort. The French settled on the north side of the river. The Wea villages were on the south side.
To encourage the Wea to trade only with the French, the Governor-General of New France, Philippe de Rigaud Vaudreuil, allowed special trade at Ouiatenon. Traders quickly brought many goods to the new town. Soon, officials from Louisiana sent more men to help Vincennes control the Wabash River area. Fort Ouiatenon became known as "the finest palisaded fort in the upper country." It was one of the most successful trading posts in the whole region. At its busiest, in the mid-1700s, Fort Ouiatenon might have had over 3,000 people living nearby. It was a central point for five Wea and two Kickapoo villages.
British Take Control
In September 1760, New France gave up control to the British. After this, British soldiers were sent to take over Ouiatenon. A group of British soldiers led by Lieutenant Edward Jenkins arrived in 1761. They took control of the fort.
On June 1, 1763, during Pontiac's War, the Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten tribes captured Ouiatenon. They surprised Lieutenant Jenkins and his men. They took Fort Ouiatenon without a fight. Seven other similar forts were also captured in this large Native American uprising against the British.
The British didn't use Fort Ouiatenon much after the French and Indian War. They never kept soldiers there. By the mid-1770s, the fort was described as being 70 yards from the Wabash River. Native American tribes, like the Ouiatenon and Kickapoo, lived around the fort.
As late as 1778, Ouiatenon was a place where war parties gathered. These groups fought on behalf of the British government.
Native American Use and Destruction
In 1778, Captain Leonard Helm and Lt. Bailey arrived. They wanted to secure the fort for the American rebels. A British agent named Celeron controlled the fort. He tried to leave but was captured with 40 men. By December of that year, a British company arrived. They raised the British flag in the fort. Soon after, Americans captured Vincennes in 1779. Captain I. Shelby then came to Ouiatenon. He received promises of help from the Wea.
However, during the 1780s, local Native American tribes used the fort. It became a base for them to fight against American settlers moving west. Because of this, President George Washington ordered the fort to be destroyed in 1791. This operation was called the "Blackberry Campaign." Northwest Territory Governor Arthur St. Clair ordered General Charles Scott to attack villages along the Wabash River. Ouiatenon was the main target.
Scott crossed the Ohio River in May 1791. He marched to the Ouiatenon area with 750 soldiers from Kentucky. The Native Americans who were there left. Colonel James Wilkinson led soldiers to fire on the escaping Native Americans. Ouiatenon was then burned to the ground. The soldiers also destroyed several other nearby villages. This included a large village near the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. In total, 38 Native Americans were killed. Another 58 were taken prisoner, mostly women and children. The Kentucky soldiers had no one killed and only five wounded.
Fort Ouiatenon was never an important historical site again after this.
Rediscovering the Fort
The old fort's ruins were lost for a long time. The land became a farm in the 1900s.
The actual site of Fort Ouiatenon was found and confirmed by archaeologists in the late 1960s. The Ouiatenon Preserve is about a mile west of the Fort Ouiatenon Historical Park. It's along South River Road and the Wabash River. This preserve includes the original fort site from the 1700s. It also has nearly 200 acres of land around it. In 1970, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In 1930, a replica of Fort Ouiatenon was built by a local doctor named Richard Wetherill. Since there aren't many good records of the original fort, the replica is mostly made up. The Daughters of the American Revolution had placed a small marker nearby in 1909. Dr. Wetherill's blockhouse was actually built like British forts (using horizontal logs). This doesn't match the original Fort Ouiatenon, which used vertical logs.
Today, this replica blockhouse is the main feature of Fort Ouiatenon Historical Park. The Fort Ouiatenon Blockhouse Museum is open to visitors in the summer. It's also where the yearly Feast of the Hunters' Moon takes place. Many rare items from the original Fort Ouiatenon are shown by the Tippecanoe County Historical Association during the Feast.
See also
