page_title: Fort Chiswell, Virginia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Fort Chiswell, Virginia / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Plaque located on one of three sides on the Ft. Chiswell historic marker erected by local DAR chapters in 1924. This plaque is about the history the Wilderness Road which passed near this place in colonial times.
context_page_description: Fort Chiswell is a census-designated place in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 939 at the 2010 census.
  Fort Chiswell is located at the junction of Interstate 77 and Interstate 81. Going west from Fort Chiswell, drivers find themselves on a double wrong-way concurrency - one of few in the nation. Interstate 77 northbound is overlapped with Interstate 81 southbound, drivers will find themselves oriented the right way again when exiting I-81 back to I-77 north towards Charleston or south to Charlotte.
context_section_description: The community name comes from a frontier fort built in 1758 as an outpost during the French and Indian War. The fort, which was of strategic importance during the American Revolution as the guardpost over a small deposit of lead used to mold bullets, was situated at the junction of the Great Trading Path and the Richmond Road, near the New River. The fort fell into disrepair in the 18th century as both the county seat and courthouse were moved from Fort Chiswell to the county seat of Wytheville, 12 miles to the west. The remaining foundations of the Fort and its surrounding buildings were completely covered over during the construction of I-77 in Wythe County during the 1970s. There is a pyramid shaped historical marker of sandstone situated approximately 200 yards west-northwest of the fort's original location next to the old chicken house.
  The Fort Chiswell Site, The Mansion at Fort Chiswell, and McGavock Family Cemetery are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
caption: Wilderness Road plaque on the above Historic Marker.
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