Fort Shirley Fort Shirley was a fort erected by the Province of Pennsylvania during the French and Indian War . History . During the mid - 1750s , the mountainous ridges and valleys of south central Pennsylvania were an important theater for colliding European and Native American cultures . The “ no man ’ s land ” of the time , these unsettled forests were located between colonial Philadelphia to the east and the Ohio Country to the west The area that is located in the southeastern part of modern - day Huntingdon County lay along new trade routes through the mountains . Before the construction of Fort Shirley , a small trading post built by George Croghan was located along one of the routes . Croghan , an Irish immigrant referred to as the “ King of the Traders , ” made his home in the fertile fields along Aughwick Creek , just north of the modern - day Shirleysburg ( Volwiler 1926 ) . It was here that a well - populated settlement , Aughwick Old Town , sprang up adjacent to George Croghan ’ s homestead and trading post . Because of Croghan ’ s presence , the location became an important council place between Natives and the provincial government of Pennsylvania . Aughwick was chosen as a prime location to keep a safe distance from the French at Fort Duquesne , who put a price on his head , as well as the authorities back east , that would arrest him for bankruptcy since his trading activity was interrupted by the start of the Seven Years War . NOTE : In 1754 Washington suffered a defeat and Natives Americans loyal to British , including tribal leader and acquaintance of George Washington , Queen Aliquippa and the Half King sought safety at Aughwick under the care of George Croghan . In 1755 , after General Edward Braddock ' s defeat George Croghan and followers , including Native Americans , return to Aughwick and in summer months fortify the trading post . In 1756 Armstrong uses the site , then Fort Shirley , as a staging area to attack Kittanning . The Kittanning Expedition . In September 1755 , Croghan fortified the post after General Edward Braddock ' s defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela . This was done in order to protect his stores and the 200 Iroquois that had fled there after George Washington ’ s defeat at Fort Necessity . A few months later , the post was taken over by Pennsylvania . The post became a small fort that would protect villagers against attacking Natives , and would be a launching point for militia expeditions . Shirley along with Forts Granville , Lyttelton and Patterson formed a defensive chain that stretched from the lower Juniata River and Aughwick Creek valleys . Croghan ’ s fort was strengthened by provincial troops and officially named Fort Shirley early in 1756 by the British under Hugh Mercer . After Braddock ' s defeat , the forts in the Juniata Valley came under attack by several Native tribes , as well as French troops . The worst of these attacks came at Fort Granville on August 3 , 1756 when Louis Coulon de Villiers succeeded in taking the outpost , and in the process killed the lieutenant in charge of the fort . Fort Shirley served as Colonel John Armstrong ’ s advanced post for the raid on Kittanning in the fall of 1756 ; and although the expedition was viewed as a success , this garrison was abandoned by Provincial forces later that September . Fort Shirley on the Cultural Landscape . Located in Southern Huntingdon County , Aughwick Creek is a tributary of the Juniata River , providing a travel route through the rugged mountains of Pennsylvania ’ s Ridge and Valley Province . The land north of present - day Shirleysburg occupies prime agricultural ground on the eastern bank of the Aughwick , where the floodplain is wide along the bend in the creek . A small tributary stream , named Fort Run , joins Aughwick Creek at the northern end of a farmed corn field . The story of Fort Shirley cannot be told without elaborating on the life of its “ high profile ” founder , George Croghan , who likely had his eye on this land as early as 1747 during his expeditions as a trader . He built a house and trading post here in 1753 after moving from the Cumberland Valley . Weiser ( 1916 ) writes : “ This famous valley heretofore referred to as Aughwick , is described as being in the extreme southern part of Huntingdon County , one of a series of valleys through whose entire length ran the celebrated path from Kittanning to Philadelphia , being the great western highway for footmen and packhorses ” ( 1916 : 573 ) . The Evans Map , dated 1749 , guided trade and travel from Philadelphia and Lancaster to the central mountains of Pennsylvania . Of specific interest is the westward route labeled “ new trail ” that ends just past Black Log . Croghan ’ s homestead was off the map to the west . Always pushing the envelope of the western frontier , Croghan states in a letter written to Sir William Johnson dated September 10 , 1755 : “ I Live 30 Miles back of all Inhabitance on ye fronteers … ” ( Volwiler 1926 , 48 ) . By 1755 , Croghan was essentially “ hiding out ” in the back country of the province , since he lost many assets provisioning Braddock ’ s expedition , in addition to his losses in the Ohio Country during the previous year . An early map of south - central Pennsylvania was produced by John Armstrong in 1755 , and showed the proposed chain of forts to protect the western frontier ( Waddell and Bomberger 1996 , 18 - 19 ) . Darlington ’ s 1882 map was copied from Armstrong ’ s map on file at the Public Record Office in London . Croghan was commissioned by the Provincial governor to manage the establishment of this line of forts in 1755 , and used his existing fort for the defensive location at Aughwick . The European concept of lines of forts was no doubt influenced by local topography , in that their presence facilitated the movement of goods and people through travel arteries and provided fortified refuges in times of hostility . A similar situation is documented in colonial Massachusetts , wherein a chain of frontier forts traversed a straight line distance of 38 miles over the rough terrain of the northern Berkshires . Coe writes : " [ a ] ll construction in them was timber , with no masonry beyond chimneys and chimney bases , and no earthworks " ( 2006 : 5 ) . One of Coe ’ s archaeological case studies was also called Fort Shirley , by the same namesake . Another similarity lies in the pioneering activities of the local leaders and the speculation of " wild lands " . Croghan ' s Trading Post and Aughwick Oldtown . To reveal the location of Fort Shirley , it is necessary to understand the cultural and geographical significance of the settled land adjacent to the fort . A substantial settlement , Aughwick Old Town , developed around George Croghan ' s homestead , a place where Native Americans and whites conducted trade and found refuge . In a letter dated 16 August 1754 , Croghan wrote to the governor of the province that the Half King and his fellow Mingo Seneca people had been staying with him at Aughwick since Washington ’ s defeat ( Hazard 1897 , 140 - 141 ) . In a deposition given on August 27 , 1754 on file in The British Public Records Office , some Native American allies of Washington informed a Captain John B . W . Shaw that they were going to " Jemmy Arther " for protection . The reference to Jemmy Arther is likely an early reference to the trading post of Jerhemia Wardner , employer of George Croghan . Having no place to go after losing their village at the Forks of the Ohio , the Half King expected his people to be harbored and protected by the provincial government of Pennsylvania . Croghan pleaded to the governor that he could not provide for this many families alone and that he needed funding or compensation . Conrand Weiser visited Croghan ’ s homestead at Aughwick on September 3 , 1754 to investigate the situation and reported to Governor Hamilton that Croghan had a plentiful bounty of butter , milk , squash , pumpkins , and ample acres of the best Indian corn he had ever seen . Included in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records , Weiser also reported that ; “ … he had encountered about twenty cabins about Croghan ’ s house , and in them at least 200 Indians , men , women and children … ” ( Hazard 1878 , 149 ) . From announcements regarding runaway slaves near the frontier , we know that Croghan was listed as a contact person for their return . Croghan attracted quite a population with his entourage of partners , employees , servants , slaves , and pack teams , when widespread violence and military actions disrupted his thriving business . As the political climate was abruptly changing during the time leading up to the French and Indian War , Croghan emerged as a colonial militia leader and the most capable Indian Agent . Croghan scouted for and supplied Braddock ’ s failed expedition during the summer of 1755 ; in fact , he and his seven scouts made the first engagement with French forces . Had Braddock accepted the help of the Seneca , Mingo , and Oneida warriors rallied by Croghan , the results may have been much different ; however , only seven of the 40 warriors that traveled with him from Aughwick took part in the expedition due to Braddock ’ s distrust of them . After Braddock ’ s death and upon returning to his home , Croghan received credible intelligence reports that war parties from Kittanning were planning to attack the frontier from the West . Rather than waiting for provincial funding , Croghan erected a stockade fort at his own expense during the fall of 1755 to protect his stores and the settlement at Aughwick Old Town . The Fort . A cunning frontiersman , Croghan had no doubt thought out his homestead ’ s defenses , so when the time came to formally fortify his position during the fall of 1755 he likely incorporated existing buildings into the stockade enclosure . He was quite familiar with the fighting tactics of Native American war parties , and was looked to by the provincial government as an expert on fort construction . In addition to his fort at Aughwick , Croghan laid the plans for and oversaw the beginning of the construction of Fort Lyttleton . The situation at Aughwick was somewhat different from the erection of military forts , as Croghan ’ s fort was built after his cabin and store houses , implying that they influenced the positioning of the stockade . He is reported to have done the construction with the help of his men and local labor . Originally referred to as “ Croghan ’ s fort ” , it was taken over by provincial forces and renamed “ Fort Shirley ” in January 1756 . Croghan was commissioned by the Governor as a captain and commanded Fort Shirley for the first three months of 1756 until Captain Mercer assumed command of the garrison of 75 men . In a letter written by Governor Morris to General Shirley , dated February 9 , 1756 ( and published by in the Pennsylvania Archives ) Hazard writes ; “ … about twenty miles northward of Fort Lyttelton , at a place called Aughwick , another fort is erected something larger than Fort Lyttelton , which I have taken the liberty of naming Fort Shirley . This stands near the great path used by the Indians and Indians traders , to and from the Ohio , and consequently the easiest way of access for the Indians into the settlements of this Province ” ( 1878 , 569 ) . The fort remained active as a key outpost till its abandonment was ordered by the governor in 1756 . Montgomery writes : “ We see thus that Fort Shirley during the times of Braddock ’ s disastrous venture was an important post to and from which bodies of armed men under Provincial authority were being constantly directed … ” ( 1916 , 573 ) . Due to its advanced location , Colonel Armstrong and his troops set off from Fort Shirley on August 29 , 1756 during the Kittanning Expedition in reprisal for the destruction of Fort Granville . Written in the Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania Volume VII ( Hazard ) : “ As Fort Shirley is not easily defended , and their Water may be taken possession of by the Enemy , it running at a Foot of a high bank Eastward of the Fort , and no well Dugg , I am of Opinion , from its remote situation , that it can ’ t serve the country in the present Circumstances … ” ( 1851 , 32 - 233 ) . According to Hunter : " Except that it was a stockade fort and that it was ' something larger than fort Lyttelton , ' little is definitely known about the structure of this defense " ( Hunter 1960 , 394 ) . General Forbes described Fort Lyttleton and Fort Louden as measuring 100 feet square ; thus providing a minimum size for the stockade of Fort Shirley . Court Cases and Deeds The ownership of the tract where the fort once stood can be tracked by using deeds and surveys available on the PHMC website and other sources . Croghan was the first owner of the land where the fort stood after the area was opened up for settlement . In fact , he is said to have purchased the Aughwick tract from the Onondaga rather than from the Penn family ; and therefore , this transaction was a point of contention with the provincial government . Ownership of Croghan ' s land at Aughwick was contested in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a case heard in Huntingdon in 1799 . In this case John Armstrong ’ s sons , James and John Jr . , were defending their ownership of the land along with Thomas Duncan against John Morgan , the plaintiff ( Hudson 1849 , 141 - 152 ; and Cases of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court circa 1803 : 529 - 530 ) . After a visit to the local survey company , Africa Engineers , Huntingdon , Pennsylvania , we believe that we have found the map of the survey ordered ( if not done by ) ( Figure 2 ) John Armstrong ; who , had a vested personal interest in the property at Aughwick as he owned the deed to one of the three tracts ( also redrawn and reprinted in Africa 1883 , 342a ) . The parcel appears again in the records when the land is deeded to James Fowley in 1773 . Rev . Philip Fithian , who was commissioned to survey the Presbyterian churches scattered about Pennsylvania in 1775 , wrote about the fort and his stay at the Fowley ' s home . Published by the Huntingdon County Historical Society , he writes in his diary : " We crossed Ofwick ( Aughwick ) Creek and arrived … at Mr . Fowley ' s who lives within the walls of old Fort Shirley " ( 1937 : 16 ) . Ownership of the parcel is then transferred to Paul Warner in 1776 and recorded by another survey map . In 1783 an Irish immigrant named Samuel McCammon came to Shirleysburg from Bucks County and bought the tract that included the fort stockade . This is perhaps the most important account of the change of ownership , as Mr . McCammon is reported to have built his house from the round logs of the old fort house ( Jordan Vol . III 1936 , 716 ) . From this , we know that the fort stockade was still visible at this time . It is possible that all the usable wood from the stockade and structures was scavenged for use in the construction of cabins and out buildings , leaving only subsurface features and artifacts to reveal the fort ' s location . Any mention or surveys after this period would have been done without visual reference to the stockade . Written accounts . There are multiple accounts , from both primary sources and historical interpretations , regarding the location of Fort Shirley ; and each of these come along with their own specific complications and contradictions . The first account for the location of Fort Shirley after the Colonial Period appeared in a newspaper called The Standing Stone Banner ( published 1853 - 1855 ) that was edited by J . Simpson Africa and Samuel G . Whitaker . The Banner ' s description appeared in the Pennsylvania Archives ( Hazard 1856 , 458 ) during the first attempt to locate the frontier forts of Pennsylvania . In Lytle ' s History of Huntingdon County , he states : “ … ( I am ) indebted to Samuel McVitty , ESQ . , formerly of Shirleysburg , now of Clay Township , this county , with reference to the natural surroundings in its immediate vicinity . The site of the fort has been frequently pointed out to him by those who had seen it , and by Isaac Morgan , who claims to have forted in it in his boyhood days . It was a log fort of considerable strength and size , standing on the edge of the plateau , south of the fort run and west of the road entering Shirleysburg from Mount Union ( sic ) Aughwick was situated about half - way between the fort and Aughwick Creek , where the depot of the East Broad Top Railroad now stands . Mr . McVitty spent many hours of his youthful hours in gathering arrow - heads , stone tomahawks , beads , and musket balls from this historic ground ” ( 1875 , 64 - 65 ) . In his history of Huntingdon County , Africa writes : “ The fort stockade was located on the left or south bank of Fort Run , about half - way between the Benjamin Leas house and the farm of Nelson Barton , and a little south of a line drawn between the two . The house of Capt . Croghan , who was in command of the fort , stood a little west or southwest of the fort , near a large pine - tree then , and for three - quarters of a century after , standing near where the station of the East Broad Top Railroad now stands ” ( 1883 , 341 - 342 ) . A report on the frontier forts was published by Weiser ( 1916 ) , but according to Waddell and Bomberger ( 1996 ) it was assembled without critical analysis or organization . However , according to Weiser : “ The writer , after an inspection of the site found it on an elevated plot of ground , where now stands the Shirleysburg Female Seminary , within the limits of the borough of Shirleysburg and on the east side of it about one - fourth of a mile from Aughwick . A small stream passes southwest through Germany Valley between the spot where the fort was located and the end of Owing ’ s Hill , and empties into Aughwick Creek ” ( 1916 , 567 - 566 ) . The reference to an “ elevated plot of ground ” is unclear , as the seminary location is set back from Fort Run and its confluence with Aughwick Creek . The report also states that the fort supposedly stood opposite a high ledge of rocks used for target practice ; however , modern highway construction impacted this hillside so that it cannot be used as a reference . Another historian , Charles Hannah , presents a photo of the field from 1909 , labeling it as the field where Fort Shirley Stood ( Hannah 1911 , 253 ) . The Huntingdon Borough Sesquicentennial publication ( 1938 ) , repeated Lytle ' s 1875 description of fort while Samuel McVitty recounts of local elders talking about the fort ’ s size and recalls collecting military and Indian artifacts in the field as a child thus reinforcing an oral account of the fort ' s location . One of the oldest parcel maps documenting the tract where the fort stood is dated November 23 , 1762 and was obtained through the Hamilton Library Collection in Carlisle ; unfortunately , the fort location is not indicated . Next we have Surveyor General Armstrong ’ s survey map of the parcel apparently dated 1761 ; this , was obtained at the local engineering office and it does show a location for the fort . The map indicates that the parcel that includes the fort was deeded to Jeremiah Warder and Company in right of George Croghan . This map was later redrawn for a plate published by Africa ( 1883 , 342a ) . At first glance , the scale and proportions seemed to be relatively accurate when compared to modern aerial photographs and topographic maps of the site . Therefore , we wanted to check to see if the mapped location of the fort could mark the spot . To evaluate the accuracy of the map we went to the Huntingdon County Mapping Office where we had the map overlaid onto the GIS database . While fitting the maps , it was discovered that the survey from Carlisle was close to 100 perches ( 1 perch = 16 . 5 ft . ) too short along one of the survey legs . This may explain why there is another survey map dated November 25 . While a more accurate survey map , the date is difficult to decipher ; thus , complicating our understanding of the timeline of events surrounding the surveys and court documents . Using distinct features as control points we attempted to match the survey maps to the modern aerial image . We then re - surveyed the three - mile - long tract using the survey notes to reveal that the boundaries match up best nearest along Aughwick Creek , while distortion and inaccuracy occurs along Owing ’ s Hill and Fort Run . From the GIS , we know that the symbol used to represent the fort measures 600 by 400 feet , which is much too large to have been drawn to scale . Additionally , the overlay places the fort on the steep hill and in the middle of Route 522 , so we know that the placement of both the fort and Fort Run are skewed . The GIS is flexible in the different view options as shown in this figure ; with the redrawn parcel boundary over the areal on the left , and the parcel boundary over a hill - shade surface on the right . Penn State University Summer Field School 2010 . After reviewing the maps and assembling the written clues , a team was assembled for the Summer of 2010 to conduct a preliminary investigation of the site . The presence of a palisade fort was discovered as well as an indication of both Native Americans and activities of the troops garrisoned there . When chosen by Croghan , the location was appealing as a good spot for a homestead rather than defensible ground for a fort . Bearing this in mind , it must consider that the 1750s landscape may have been transformed by geomorphologic processes ( i . e . flooding , erosion , and stream channel migration ) as well as subsequent farming activity . Before the excavation began , visual inspections of various air photo series , there are few ( if any ) , to find apparent effects on the vegetation coverage from subsurface features . At first glance , the site appears to be a seemingly featureless cornfield ; but by using clues from the written record and the maps , four localized areas are sought for additional investigation . There are no obvious traces of the fort or any other structures from Croghan ’ s homestead visible on the aerial photographs of the site . Adding to the complications is the fact that old Pennsylvania State Route 522 could have impacted the fort and village sites . One way to focus the search for a compound structure such as Fort Shirley is to use geophysical prospecting techniques to detect any traces of subsurface features such as foundations , the palisade wall , and the powder magazine . After narrowing the search using the written record , maps , and GIS ; a geophysical survey was started in November 2009 with the help of Indiana University of Pennsylvania . A site grid has been established and the test blocks have been staked - out using a laser total station ; then , ground - penetrating - radar and resistivity equipment were used to collect data during close interval traverses ( 0 . 5 or 1 . 0 m ) . The geophysical data will be interpreted further to help guide subsequent archaeological testing . REFERENCES CITED - - - - . 1937 . Souvenir Historical Book , Sesqui - Centennial Celebration of Huntingdon County , Pennsylvania . Huntingdon County Historical Society , Huntingdon , PA . Africa , J . S . 1883 . History of Huntingdon County Pennsylvania . Huntingdon County Historical Society , Huntingdon , PA . Burns , Jonathan A . , Drobnock , George John , and Smith , Jared M . 2008 . Croghan at Aughwick : History , Maps , and Archaeology Collide in the Search for Fort Shirley . Paper Presented Pioneer America Society October 2008 . Coe , M . D . 2006 . The Line of Forts : Historical Archaeology on the Colonial Frontier of Massachusetts . University Press of New England , Hanover . Hannah , C . A . 1911 . The Wilderness Trail , vols . I and II . G . P . Putnam ’ s Sons , New York Hazard , Samuel . 1851 . Pennsylvania Archives , vol . II . Joseph Severns and Co . , Philadelphia , PA . Hazard , Samuel . 1878 . Pennsylvania Archives , vol . VI . Joseph Severns and Co . , Philadelphia , PA . Hazard , Samuel . 1851 . The Pennsylvania Colonial Records , vol . VI , Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania . Theodore Fenn and Co . , Harrisburg , PA . Hunter W . A . 1960 . Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier , 1753 - 1758 . The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , Harrisburg , PA . Jordan , J . W . 1936 . A History of the Juniata River Valley in Three Volumes , vol . III . National Historical Association , Harrisburg , PA . Lytle , M . S . 1876 . History of Huntingdon County , in the state of Pennsylvania : from the earliest times to the centennial anniversary of American independence , July 4 , 1876 . W . H . Roy Publishers , Lancaster , PA . Supreme Court of Pennsylvania . 1871 . [ 1818 ] Armstrong , Armstrong , and Duncan v . Morgan . In , Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania , Vol . III . JNO . Campbell , Philadelphia . Waddel , Louis M . and Bomberger , Bruce D . 1996 . The French and Indian War In Pennsylvania , 1753 – 1763 . Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission , Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , Harrisburg , PA . Weiser , J . G . 1916 . The Frontier Forts in the Cumberland and Juniata Valleys . In , Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania , Vol . I , edited by T . L . Montgomery . W . S . Ray , State Printer , Harrisburg , PA .