Fort Pitt Blockhouse

Last updated
Fort Pitt Block House
Bouquet blockhouse.JPG
Former namesBouquet's Block House
Bouquet's Redoubt
Old Block House [1]
General information
Type Redoubt
Location Point State Park,
Pittsburgh
Coordinates 40°26′28″N80°00′35″W / 40.4412°N 80.0098°W / 40.4412; -80.0098 Coordinates: 40°26′28″N80°00′35″W / 40.4412°N 80.0098°W / 40.4412; -80.0098
Completed1764
Technical details
Floor count2
Forks of the Ohio
NRHP reference # 66000643 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NHLOctober 9, 1960 [3]
Designated PHMCMay 08, 1959 [4]
Designated PHLFunknown [5]

The Fort Pitt Block House (sometimes called Bouquet's Blockhouse [6] or Bouquet's Redoubt [7] ) is a historic building in Point State Park in the city of Pittsburgh. It was constructed in 1764 as a redoubt of Fort Pitt, making it the oldest extant structure in Western Pennsylvania, [8] as well as the "oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains". [9]

Point State Park

Point State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 36 acres (150,000 m2) in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River.

Pittsburgh City in western Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and is the county seat of Allegheny County. A population of about 301,048 residents live within the city limits, making it the 66th-largest city in the U.S. The metropolitan population of 2,324,743 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 27th-largest in the U.S.

Redoubt type of fort or fort system

A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a hastily constructed temporary fortification. The word means "a place of retreat". Redoubts were a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era, especially in the outer works of Vauban-style fortresses made popular during the 17th century, although the concept of redoubts has existed since medieval times. A redoubt differs from a redan in that the redan is open in the rear, whereas the redoubt was considered an enclosed work.

Contents

Construction

The Block House was constructed in 1764 as a defensive military redoubt. Henry Bouquet initiated the construction of a small number of redoubts around the outer walls of the fort as a way to reinforce its defense, [note 1] of which only the Fort Pitt Block House survives. [10]

Henry Bouquet British Army officer

Henry Louis Bouquet, generally known as Henry Bouquet, was a prominent British Army officer in the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. Bouquet is best known for his victory over a Native American force at the Battle of Bushy Run, lifting the siege of Fort Pitt during Pontiac's War.

History

When Fort Pitt was demolished in 1792, the Block House was left untouched because it was already in use as a residence. The structure had been converted into a private house in 1785 by Isaac Craig. In 1894, philanthropist Mary Schenley presented the deed to the Block House to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). [11] [12] She did this specifically so that the structure might be preserved for future generations:

Isaac Craig was a Pittsburgh businessman and politician in the early days of western Pennsylvania settlement.

Mary Schenley American philanthropist

Mary Elizabeth Croghan Schenley (1826—1903) is best remembered as a major philanthropist to the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.

Daughters of the American Revolution Nonprofit organization

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The organization's membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of soldiers or others of the Revolutionary period who aided the cause of independence; applicants must have reached 18 years of age and are reviewed at the chapter level for admission. It has 185,000 members in the United States and other countries. Its motto is "God, Home, and Country."

You are to preserve and keep this relic of a bygone past, and to gather and preserve all obtainable history and tradition in regard to it, and you are to beautify and adorn it and to make it the receptacle of relics bearing on the Colonial and Revolutionary periods of its existence.…I will therefore…leave the ladies of your Society, who have the history of western Pennsylvania at their finger ends, to tell the story of the chivalrous Frenchmen, cruel, crafty Indians, courageous British, and intrepid Colonists. It is fitting that this old landmark, rich in historic associations of more than a century ago, should fall into the hands of those who by birth, tradition, and sentiment are particularly fitted to receive and preserve it and perpetuate the memories of the days when it was occupied by the French and their Indian allies, and afterwards by the British and Colonial troops. [12]

(However, the French had already abandoned control of the area when the blockhouse was built in 1764.)

Industrialist Henry Clay Frick purchased all of the land surrounding the Block House in 1902, shortly before Schenley's death. [13] He offered the DAR $25,000 to move the Block House to Schenley Park; however, the DAR refused. Following lengthy litigation, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of the DAR and the Block House, enabling its continued preservation. [13]

Henry Clay Frick American industrialist

Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, union-buster, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel manufacturing concern. He also financed the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company, and had extensive real estate holdings in Pittsburgh and throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He later built the historic neoclassical Frick Mansion, and upon his death donated his extensive collection of old master paintings and fine furniture to create the celebrated Frick Collection and art museum. However, as a founding member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, he was also in large part responsible for the alterations to the South Fork Dam that caused its failure, leading to the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. His vehement opposition to unions also caused violent conflict, most notably in the Homestead Strike.

Schenley Park park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Schenley Park is a large municipal park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between the neighborhoods of Oakland, Greenfield, and Squirrel Hill. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. In 2011, the park was named one of "America's Coolest City Parks" by Travel + Leisure.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the highest court in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made official in 1722 upon its reorganization as an entity separate from the control of the royal governor. Today, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania maintains a discretionary docket, meaning that the Court may choose which cases it accepts, with the exception of mandatory death penalty appeals, and certain appeals from the original jurisdiction of the Commonwealth Court. This discretion allows the Court to wield powerful influence on the formation and interpretation of Pennsylvania law.

The structure has never been torn down, completely rebuilt, or moved during its centuries of existence. Much of its timbers, brick, and stone remain original to its 1764 construction.

Today

Although the Block House resides within the boundaries of Point State Park, it is owned and operated by the Fort Pitt Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. [8] The DAR allows visitors to the park to tour the structure. [8] The building is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as being the sole surviving historical building in the "Forks of the Ohio (Site of Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt, Bouquet's Blockhouse)" historic place. It also has a historical marker issued by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania [6] and is a Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation designated Historic Landmark. [5]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

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. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

Pennsylvania State of the United States of America

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the northeastern, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.

Maps and illustrations

Before construction

After construction

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Blockhouse small, isolated fort in the form of a single building

In military science, a blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It usually refers to an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery, air force and cruise missiles. A fortification intended to resist these weapons is more likely to qualify as a fortress or a redoubt, or in modern times, be an underground bunker. However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a battery or redoubt.

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References

  1. ↑ Co, G. M. Hopkins & (19 July 2011). "English: This is a map published in 1900 of the area of Pittsburgh now known as Point State Park". Archived from the original on 11 November 2012 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "Forks of the Ohio". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  4. ↑ "Fort Pitt Blockhouse - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  5. 1 2 (photo), Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 2007 http://www.phlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Plaque1.jpg, archived from the original on 2011-07-21, retrieved 2011-07-15Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. 1 2 "Fort Pitt Block House Historical Marker". ExplorePAHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  7. ↑ Durant, Samuel W. (1876). "Plan of Fort Pitt". Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "Point State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Mellon, Steve. "The Blockhouse, Point State Park". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
  10. ↑ Toker, Franklin (2007). Buildings of Pittsburgh. Chicago: Society of Architectural Historians. ISBN   978-0-8139-2650-6.
  11. ↑ Atlantic Reporter. 79. St. Paul: West Publishing Co. 1911. p. 128.
  12. 1 2 Daughters of the American Revolution magazine. 5. 1894. p. 160.
  13. 1 2 "The Point: The Block House". Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Archived from the original on 5 December 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.

Notes

  1. ↑ . The specific number of redoubts constructed is variously listed as two (Toker 2007) or five (Toker 2009)

Further reading

Pittsburgh Waste Book and Fort Pitt Trading Post Papers. ULS Archives Service Center University of Pittsburgh Library System.

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