page_title: Fort Washington (Ohio)
section_title: Losantiville
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Washington (Ohio) / History / Losantiville
caption_attribution_description: English: map of en:Fort Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio
context_page_description: Fort Washington was a fortified stockade with blockhouses built by order of Gen. Josiah Harmar starting in summer 1789 in what is now downtown Cincinnati, Ohio near the Ohio River. The physical location of the fort was facing the mouth of the Licking River, above present day Fort Washington Way. The fort was named in honor of President George Washington. The Fort was the major staging place and conduit for settlers, troops and supplies during the conquest and settlement of the Northwest Territory.
  In 1803, the fort was moved to Newport, KY across the river and became the Newport Barracks. In 1806, the site of the abandoned fort was divided into lots and sold.
context_section_description: When Judge John Cleves Symmes contracted with the Continental Congress to purchase 1,000,000 acres in southwestern Ohio known as the Symmes Purchase in 1788, it reserved 15 acres to the federal government for a fort. In summer 1789, Fort Washington was built to protect early settlements located in the Symmes Purchase area, including Losantiville, Columbia and Northbend.
  Gen. Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the Northwest Territory by vote of Congress on October 5, 1787. When Governor St. Clair arrived at Losantiville [Cincinnati] the settlement consisted of two small hewed log houses and several cabins. Maj. John Doughty, under orders from Gen. Josiah Harmar, was engaged with a small military force in finishing the construction of Fort Washington. The population of the crude village, exclusive of the military, probably did not exceed one hundred and fifty. Three days after Gen. Harmar took up his quarters at Fort Washington, on January 1, 1790, Governor St. Clair was received with due ceremony by the troops and citizens of Losantiville.
  Fort Washington was distinguished by its large size: it was larger than a modern city block and designed to house up to 1500 men. Gen. Josiah Harmar described it as "one of the most solid substantial wooden fortresses. . .of any in the Western Territory."  The stockade's walls were two stories high with blockhouses located at each corner.
caption: Fort Washington in Cincinnati
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