The school district, sports teams, various local businesses, and even our own organization use the title of “Fort Cherry” in their names, but if you read anything on our website or social media posts about the original fort, or in old county or local history books, you’ll often find it written with the words switched around: “Cherry’s Fort.” You might notice the same thing happening with other forts in the region, like "Couch’s Fort" which once sat along what is now "Fort Couch" Road near South Hills Village. Why is that? Is there a difference? Does it matter? Though it might cause some confusion, knowing which word comes first can tell you some important information.
While it likely doesn’t matter too much when discussed in general conversation, it does make a difference when it is discussed in a historical context, because the way a fort is titled in the late-18th century can tell us a fair bit about its size and status at that time.
Forts in colonial America followed fairly standard naming guidelines, and were for the most part split into two different categories: professional military forts and settler forts.
Professional military forts were those constructed by and/or for a formal military force, and were staffed with soldiers or militia on a regular basis. Because of their professional and military status, those forts were titled as the full, proper noun. Think of Fort Pitt built by the English, Fort Duquesne built by the French, or Fort Lafayette built by the Americans, all in present-day Pittsburgh.
Settler forts on the other hand were small, fortified or stockaded cabins or stone houses that housed a few neighboring families in times of need, but did not house soldiers or militia on a regular basis. Settler forts took the name of the main family who built or resided within their fort, such as Cherry’s, McDonald’s, and Beelor’s Forts. These forts were described in the same way you would talk about going to a friend’s house, and applies to the majority of the forts in our region.
So, which one is it, Fort Cherry or Cherry’s Fort? Both would be correct, in their own context. The school district and local businesses have adopted the “Fort Cherry” moniker, one that has actually been used since at least 1887, but since the actual fort built in 1774 from which those places get their names was a settler fort that was not staffed by professional soldiers or militia, Cherry’s Fort is the proper term to use.