Far to the north of Manhattan is the hilly neighborhood of Fort George. But did you know five different forts once stood in New York with the name Fort George?
The last Fort George was built in 1776. It stood on Fort George Hill near Audubon Avenue and West 192nd Street in Upper Manhattan. For a short time, it was called Fort Clinton.
Today, the site is in the northern end of the Washington Heights neighborhood. From 1895 to 1914, Fort George was home to an amusement park. Now, the George Washington Educational Campus and part of Highbridge Park are here. Fort George Hill is also a street name that circles the fort’s site.
The area is also called Fort George. It is a sub-neighborhood of Washington Heights. Some say it runs from West 181st Street to Dyckman Street. Others say it is smaller, east of Broadway to the Harlem River. But many New Yorkers do not use the name Fort George.
The first Fort George was built in 1626. The Dutch built it in New Amsterdam. They called it Fort Amsterdam. In 1664, the British Army renamed it Fort James. The Dutch briefly took it back from 1673 to 1674. They called it Fort Willem Hendrick. The British renamed it Fort William Henry in 1691. In 1703, it became Fort Anne or Queen’s Fort. Finally, in 1714, it was named Fort George.
Americans destroyed the north side in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. It was fully torn down in 1790. The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House stands there now in Lower Manhattan.
A second Fort George was built by the British in 1755. This one was in Oswego, New York. The French destroyed it in 1756. Today, Montcalm Park sits on that site.
The third Fort George was built in 1755 on Lake George, New York. It was destroyed in 1777 and abandoned in 1780. It was near Fort William Henry in Lake George Battlefield Park.
Around 1777, a fourth Fort George was built on Staten Island. It was near Fort Hill in St. George. The British fortified Duxbury’s Point during the American Revolutionary War. Hessian troops stayed near the Jersey Street brook.
The stakes were set for Fort George in 1625. This marked New Amsterdam and New York City. The Dutch and English rebuilt the fort many times. They used African slave labor. It changed hands eight times in battles between three countries. The Dutch called it Fort Amsterdam, Fort James, and Fort Willem Hendrick. The British named it Fort William Henry, Fort Anne, and Fort George in 1714.
After the American Revolution, its military use ended. The country wanted to dissolve the army. They also wanted to develop the land. The walls were torn down to build the 1790 Government House for President Washington. But the capital moved to Philadelphia. State administrators used the building instead.
Fort George never stopped invaders. But it became home to Dutch District Generals and British Royal Governors for over two hundred years. These leaders lived inside the fort’s walls.
So as you explore this vibrant neighborhood. Remember the five forts named Fort George.