HISTORY                                                         www.oldfortsteuben.com   

Historic Fort Steuben was built in 1786
by the First American Regiment for the
protection of surveyors who had been
sent by the Continental Congress to map
the Northwest Territory. At this time the
Indians in the area were hostile.

                                      The site was selected as most desirable for a
                                      military defense since it was bounded on the east
                                      by the Ohio River and lay on a slope of land that
                                      was uniform and drained toward the river with hills
                                      to the west which formed a natural amphitheater
                                      around the perimeter.  It was on this site that
                                      Captain John Francis Hamtramck of the First American
                                      Regiment built a small blockhouse for the protection of his
                                      provisions while he and his men constructed the fort.


By February 1787, Hamtramck and his men had completed
construction of the fort and named it after Friedrich Wilhelm
von Steuben, a Prussian army officer who had ably assisted
General Washington in the Revolutionary War. The town
that subsequently developed on the site still carries his name.

                 
                                
                                           Two hundred years later, the non-profit Old Fort Steuben
                                           Project, Inc. was formed to reproduce the fort on its
                                           original site and to offer historical and educational
                                           programs.


                           
Today, the reconstructed Fort Steuben is open to the public. The blockhouses for the enlisted men,
the officers’ quarters, the quartermaster and the artificer’s shops, and the newly opened hospital
depict the daily life of the men who helped open up the new territories to settlement.

Historic Fort Steuben now includes a park with the Veterans Memorial Fountain and a Visitors Center
which houses a Museum Shop and Exhibition Hall. The Louis Berkman Amphitheater is now complete
and offers concerts and other programs. From May through October, the Fort hosts tours, school field
trips, and special programs. Contact us for more information on any of these events: click HERE
The First Federal Land Office of the Northwest
Territory is located adjacent to Historic Fort
Steuben.  This is the original structure and
houses antiques as well as documents that
were part of the early history of Ohio. Tours of
the Land Office may be scheduled as part of
your visit to Historic Fort Steuben.
Veterans Memorial Fountain surrounded by
Memorial Bricks. Click HERE to purchase a brick.