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Thomas Cherry and His Fort: Facts Clouded by Conjecture

Revised 9/1/2024: Adjusted the proposed site of the fort approximately 175 yards west of original


There are many conflicting details concerning the events surrounding Thomas Cherry and the frontier fort known as Cherry’s Fort of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. This article aims to compile the known facts about the subject that have passed into local legend and discern what may or may not be true.



The Cherry Family in Virginia & Maryland

Virginia, 1773 - a setting almost unfamiliar to that of our modern day, yet in many ways quite similar, we find the subject of our investigations: Thomas Cherry. Among some of the first pioneers to settle on the western Pennsylvania frontier, Thomas Cherry was not successful in finding significance on a national scale and therefore, facts regarding his life remain unclear. 


Numerous sources show that there were at least three generations of men named Thomas Cherry, which can lead to some confusion in the documents contemporary to their time. To simplify this, we’ll be referring to each of these men as Thomas I, II, and III throughout these articles.


Tobacco growing at Jamestown, VA., 1600's (Sydney King)

Thomas I emigrated from England[31] around the year of 1733. He was one of the first hundred settlers to show up on a taxables list in the area known as Monocacy, Maryland. Upon settling this area, Thomas I went on to amass several hundred acres of plantation land along the Virginia/Maryland border that he and his family used to grow tobacco. Much of this land was along the Potomac River, mostly in Virginia (now modern-day West Virginia) around the mouth of the Licking Creek, and within a mile of Fort Frederick.[8] [26] One can only imagine the beauty and serenity this land would provide in such a time devoid of the highways and commercial real estate that occupy it today. Nearby to these lands are the hamlet and gentle-flowing stream known today as Cherry Run, both likely named for the Cherry family.



Top: A portion of a 1736 map of the Potomac River showing the location of Thos. Cherry highlighted in red. (from “A Plan of the upper Part of Potomack River called Cohongorooto Survey’d in the Year 1736” by Benjamin Winslow) Bottom: The same area shown in 1827, note stream on the south bank titled Cherry R. (from “A map of the state of Virginia: reduced from the nine sheet map of the state in conformity to law” by H.S. Tanner and E.B. Dawson)

Thomas I and his wife Rachel had six known sons and two known daughters. The sons were William, Aaron, John, Moses, Ralph, and Thomas II. The daughters were Rachel II and Honour. Thomas II’s exact date of birth is not known, though it is likely to have been around 1738. Some sources put his birth in 1758, but this would conflict with the birth year of his first son. Earlier biographies assume that Thomas II emigrated from Bristol, England, but it is more likely that he was born in the American colonies. Thomas I’s last will and testament, dated October 6th, 1759, listed each of his children, as well as his wife Rachel. The land, money, possessions, and enslaved individuals all mentioned in his will give a good idea to the level of wealth of the Cherry family. They were certainly of some stature, but by no means in the upper echelons of planters of Virginia society. Within a year of writing the will, Thomas I was dead, leaving all of his land and the associated responsibilities to his wife and children. Compared to his siblings, Thomas II came up quite short in his inheritance, receiving even less than his sisters. It is interesting to note that Thomas II later oversaw the sale of the family plantation, so the land may have been transferred to him after his father’s death.


A view looking south toward the Licking Creek Aqueduct on the original site of the Cherry family plantation, Maryland side (HFC)


Although Thomas II did not inherit the land from his father, he was responsible for advertising it here in the Maryland Journal. Assuming debts weren’t too high, the sale of this land would’ve given the family enough to resolve credits and prepare for an expedition to the frontier. (Maryland Journal, September 25, 1773)



Various features of Thomas II’s photographed descendants were composited into this modern depiction. The Cherry family would have been of high enough stature to dress in the middle-class fashion of the time, and likely would have worn attire like this in their earlier days before the frontier. It was unheard of for men of the time to wear any facial hair, so all of the frontiersmen would have been clean shaven. Simple handmade clothing of materials such as buckskins, furs, and linsey-woolsey were later made and worn on the frontier. (HFC)

With the onset of the British Credit Crisis of 1772-1773, the Cherry family, like many other tobacco plantation families, likely faced financial instability. Most planters borrowed heavily on credit to keep operations profitable. During the crisis, the British lenders came to collect, but many of these planters were not in a financial situation that would afford them enough income to meet the economic demands. Even wealthier planters like Thomas Jefferson came close to the brink of financial ruin.


Likely facing this same issue, Thomas II put the family’s land up for sale in 1773 and took the call of the frontier ranger with his brothers Aaron, John, Moses, and Ralph. They set out on a journey through the Pennsylvania wilderness with their families and other Virginians and Marylanders facing the same fate. These pioneers likely followed the trails blazed by earlier expeditions of George Washington and Edward Braddock (the very same road that had its foundations in Nemacolin’s Path and would evolve into the National Road, U.S. Route 40). The family spent some time at the Redstone Fort in modern-day Brownsville, Pennsylvania before heading west to the areas of modern-day Pittsburgh, eventually settling in modern-day Mount Pleasant Township.[31]


The lands chosen were directly between plots being surveyed for both George Washington and his cousin Lund Washington. These tracts of land chosen by the Cherry family, like most other tracts in the area at the time, each received a unique name; “The Comely Green,” “Fairfield,” and “Fallowfield.”[20] At the time Thomas Cherry II settled, this land was claimed by both Pennsylvania within Westmoreland County and Virginia within the District of West Augusta. In 1781 the western portion of Westmoreland County was designated as a new county named after General Washington. A short while later, beginning in 1784, the extension of the Mason-Dixon line settled the border dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia.


The Cherry Tracts in Mount Pleasant Township (PHMC)

Mount Pleasant Township in the 18th century was a wilderness far removed from the comforts of any large city or settlement. By the 1770s, fewer than five thousand families were present across the entirety of western Pennsylvania, many of them living in states of complete seclusion. This seclusion did not extend itself to the many threats that already existed in the area before the Europeans settled. Threats that are unheard of in today’s Pennsylvania backwoods were very prevalent in this time period, such as bears, wolves, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and highly provoked Native American warriors.


The City of Washington, Pennsylvania did not yet exist and the population of Pittsburgh was fewer than 400, so these settlers, like Thomas Cherry II, were forced to be resourceful with what could be found in the bountiful wilderness. Tools were made from hand; houses and barns were hewn and constructed from trees; candles, food, clothing, and much more were sourced directly from local wildlife. One can only begin to imagine the drive and ambition that these pioneers must have had to find the motivation to adapt to such lifestyles in foreign lands. 


It can be argued that the most imposing threat to the European settlers were the Native Americans. To these natives, the lands and ways of life were not foreign, but embraced and perfected. The tribes in the area had already been in brutal conflict with European settlers after being pushed westward out of their original lands. As expected in this situation, the interactions between the natives and the new settlers oftentimes ended in bloodshed. A new violent war known as Lord Dunmore's War had also just commenced fewer than 25 miles away and only a few weeks before the arrival of the Cherrys. In response to the threat from these hostilities, the settlers constructed humble log structures to serve as forts, providing a small amount of comfort and defense from almost guaranteed attacks. These forts weren’t much, but when equipped with proper manpower and firearms, could mean the difference between life and death, and did so in many recorded instances. 


Several reasons may have been presented to the colonists of the day for settling further west on the frontier. Thomas II, like many of the other military-aged men of the area, came to these lands to serve as a frontier ranger.[13] These militia-based rangers were tasked with patrolling the frontier in search of increasing Native American raiding parties intent on destroying the settlements of their European invading enemies. By this time, the Revolutionary War had ignited in the eastern parts of the colonies, and scores of lower-class frontiersmen accepted their fates in the military draft and went off to fight the British with hopes of receiving good pay and glory. This was not the case for several other families like the Cherrys who may have been more financially comfortable and hoped to find prosperity in a quiet and safe lifestyle. While the threat of the Native Americans did pose great danger, the scenario of being bombarded by cannon-fire was absent from the frontier, so it can be noted that there was appeal in remaining there to avoid the bloody battles in the east. These frontier families recently placed all of their assets in their farms and communities, so it is understandable that they would not wish to abandon their families on the frontier to fight in a war that may not have directly pertained to them.


A large number of the frontier families in western Pennsylvania were of Scotch-Irish origins and many were said to have been an unruly bunch. Several did not intend to abide by any laws or subscribe to distant government requests, and why should they when their own lifestyles were completely independent, benefitting in no way from any foreign or domestic affairs?


Building a Fort

The Cherry family likely began work on their own fort in 1774 as soon as they came across the valley overlooking the Cherry Run Creek. The hill north of the creek offered the perfect vantage point to watch for the aforementioned incoming threats.[3] The Cherry Run creek along this area is a branch of the Raccoon Creek, and was historically mentioned by names such as Painters Run and Little Racing Creek.[17] Both this creek and the general area of Cherry Valley, would eventually be named after the Cherry family. The entire area was dense forest at the time, which meant that the settlers would first need to clear the land for building. As was common with most forts in the area, trees were felled to form a clearing of about five to six hundred yards of open land around the center of the fort.[28] The site of the fort was "within a few feet" of an old Native American path that spanned from modern-day Pittsburgh to an area roughly between modern-day Steubenville and Wheeling.[22]


Newly arrived settlers clearing land along the Cherry Run creek in Mt. Pleasant Twp. (HFC)

It has been said that construction on the fort began in the summer of 1774, and shortly thereafter Cherry’s Fort was added to the map along with the sparse few dozen other forts in the general area serving the same noble purpose.[10] When seen referenced in historical context, these small family-owned forts that oftentimes doubled as residences were referred to by the family’s name, followed by the word Fort. Some of these small forts would’ve housed a few militiamen, or may have had no military presence at all. Larger Continental Army forts such as Fort Pitt and Fort Ligonier used the word Fort as a proper title, followed by the name of the fort. While it may technically be incorrect to refer to the little fort of the Cherrys as Fort Cherry (as opposed to Cherry’s Fort), sources as far back as 1887 have used this naming convention, and it has become much more prevalent since the naming of the Fort Cherry School District in 1954.[32]


A few descriptions of how the fort may have looked persist into today’s archives, but they are not so precise that one may read them and collect an entire picture in the mind of how exactly the fort may have appeared. Aside from these short blurbs that have likely been recorded from years of oral discussion, and are questionable at best in accuracy, we have little knowledge of the exact location, size, layout, and design aspects of the fort. The layout of Cherry’s Fort is said to have been arranged in the shape of a triangle, with one large 25’ square blockhouse at the front, and two smaller buildings at the rear, likely in a symmetrical fashion. Connecting these three primitive log structures were stockade walls, fully enclosing the fort, with one entrance and exit. One of the two smaller structures was used as a chicken coop,[31] while the other was likely a bunkhouse. The walls of the fort were built to be bulletproof, and the chinking between the hewn logs measured 8” x 5”. Three sides of the fort could be seen and defended from the second floor of the main blockhouse.[1] [15] [31]


The main blockhouse was two and a half stories, with the topmost story fashioned as a lookout so that the remainder of the land could be seen around the fort from the rear of the top story. [31] It is likely that this main blockhouse was built in a similar style to those of other small frontier forts with similar descriptions such as Prickett’s Fort of Fairmont, West Virginia and Orr’s Blockhouse near Tarentum, Pennsylvania.[11] One secondary source states that the main structure was one and a half stories tall, but all other accounts state that it was two and a half stories tall. The style of the said blockhouse likely featured what was known as an overshot, which allowed the larger second story to overhang the first story. Just like in the vertical walls, the floor of this overhang featured small holes known as loopholes, which allowed for a firearm to be discharged behind protection while defending the fort from an attack. There were very few blockhouses of this style in Washington County, but evidence of their existence was found in the remains of Stricker's Blockhouse in the western section of the county.[15] There are very few examples of log buildings in this time and area being built in the shape of a square other than the overshot-style blockhouse. Almost all other log buildings of the era were rectangular. A nearby fort named Beech Bottom Fort, just west of Bethany, West Virginia, is also said to have been 25' square, and was described as a blockhouse. Because Cherry's Fort is described as being "one of the strongest forts in the county"[15] and that the largest building was "built to withstand a formidable attack,"[10] and was "two stories high, with a half story on the top, as a sort of lookout,"[10] we can confidently conclude that the main building of this fort was likely an overshot-style blockhouse.


"The Section and Plan of a Blockhouse" as shown in Travels Through the Interior Parts of America: In a Series of Letters - Thomas Anburey, 1789. The blockhouse of Cherry’s Fort likely followed this style. Note that the example shown above was under military operation and featured a cannon. Other examples also featured a small belfry to serve as a lookout on the top.

Modern layout interpretation of Cherry's Fort inspired by Rice's Fort and Fort Frye, among others

Another local example of a symmetrical fort built in the layout of a triangle is Rice's Fort of Donegal Township, Pennsylvania. This fort was not protected by a stockade and all three of the structures were the same size. Knowing that Cherry's Fort was stockaded, the buildings could not have been connected and it is likely that the two smaller buildings would have stood a short distance away from the blockhouse. A replica of Rice's Fort can be seen at the McGuffey Community Park in Claysville, Pennsylvania.


The fort is said to have served its purpose well and accounts state that Native American warriors never laid siege to it. A firsthand account from Edward Cherry (1776-1854), son of Thomas II, mentions a close encounter with a potential Native American raiding party. “Black Charles,” an enslaved man owned by the Cherry Family, was out gathering plums and hazelnuts with a young Edward when he noticed the party and ran back to the fort with the boy. Charles summoned riflemen of the neighboring McCarty and Rankin families and they held down the fort from a potential attack that night.[28]


Another of Edward Cherry’s accounts mentions his mother, Mary, and the other women of the fort often dressing as men and practicing their aim with rifles to deceive Native American scouts.[28] Every member of the family in these forts played important roles and the women and children were often held in the same regard as the men, showing the necessary discipline with firearms to defend their lives. Since Edward was born in 1776, (his headstone can be viewed at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hickory) we can place this account around the early 1780s. Thomas II and his son John are not mentioned, and therefore may have already been deceased.


Portrait of Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne (LOC)

In 1896 an account was published in the McDonald Outlook newspaper regarding a visit to the Cherrys by Native Americans. It is said that they stopped to ask the Cherrys for a meal and were invited inside only to see a portrait of Anthony Wayne, who was renowned for his role as the Senior Officer of the Army during the Northwest Indian War. Upon seeing this portrait, the Native American visitors fled from the home of the Cherrys. Wayne did operate out of Fort Pitt for some time and therefore could be recognizable to locals, and the Cherrys' Fort was said to be very near to a Native American path, but the story is most likely fictional.



Fate of John Cherry & Thomas Cherry II

Near to the fort was said to be a bountiful spring. It is not known how close this spring was to the fort, but in following the theme with most other forts, it is likely to have been constructed with the entrance very close to the spring to allow for convenient access to fresh water. One account states that the spring entered into the grounds of the fort within the stockade,[31] but other accounts are conflicting and suggest that the spring was not directly inside the fort's walls. Thomas Cherry II was found dead from a gunshot wound in the head at this spring. The manner and exact date of his death is up for debate. This event is likely to have occurred in the early-mid 1780’s. Earlier dates such as 1775 and 1777 have been suggested in other reports, but none of these dates can be substantiated, and given the fact that so many conflicting accounts have been written, it is likely that nobody knew with certainty.[24] This is a very common problem with accounts from this era. 


In 1781 a band of seven Wyandot warriors (three of whom were sons of Half-King Dunquat) began carrying out raids in the area of southwestern Pennsylvania, south of the Ohio River. Near here lived the Poe brothers - Adam and Andrew, who were well known for their pursuits in fighting Native Americans. The Poe brothers organized a group of rangers to hunt down this band of Wyandot warriors and John Cherry was amongst the ranks of this party. John was the son of Thomas II and was said to have been a "natural leader on the frontier," and so it comes as no surprise that he would be willing to risk his life to protect his friends and family. His exact age is unknown but can be estimated between 18-23 years. In Adam W. Poe's A True History of the Three Brave Indian Spies (1887), John is mentioned to be 23 at the time.[31] The rangers eventually encountered the raiding party at the mouth of Tomlinson's Run, just past the present-day border of West Virginia. In an attempt to rescue Philip Jackson, who was taken prisoner by the raiding party, John Cherry fired upon the warriors and was shot and killed by their retaliation. His body was taken back to Cherry's Fort and laid to rest in the family burial ground.[14] Much of this subject is covered by Joseph Doddridge in his Notes on the settlement and Indian wars of the western parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania from 1763 to 1783... but it should be noted that this book placed the date of the events in 1782. A letter written by the son of Andrew Poe corrects this date to June of 1781. A letter is said to have been sent to George Washington from William Irvine about this incursion, but its whereabouts are currently unknown.[31]


A fictionalized account of this incident is featured in one of Allan W. Eckert's final books That Dark and Bloody River (1995). For reasons unknown, Eckert replaces John Cherry with Thomas Cherry, but most other details remain consistent with historical accounts.


This modern depiction of John Cherry is another composite of Cherry ancestor features to suggest how he may have looked. He was described in Adam W. Poe's book as "the handsomest man ever seen," (HFC)

In the annals of local history, there is some confusion regarding which John Cherry may have died in this incursion. Thomas II had both a brother and a son named John. Most accounts lead us to believe it to be his son. Unrelated documents hint that the brother John was still alive in the following years. It is also possible that these accounts refer to Thomas Cherry III, but almost all mentions of Thomas III refer to him as Thomas P. Cherry. Unfortunately there are no mentions of middle initials in many of the historical accounts.


At least one newspaper article from 1878 provides a logical argument to suggest that Thomas Cherry II may have been present at the Gnadenhutten Massacre of 1782 to avenge the death of his brother (or also likely his son) John at the hands of a Wyandot war party, but primary evidence of this is not known to exist.[29] It could be possible that this article is referring to Thomas III and his brother John. In the 1912 republishing of Doddridge's aforementioned notes, a respected historian from Cross Creek named James Simpson (1824-1902) adds a note to further suggest Thomas (II or III, of which is again not specified) was indeed present at the massacre along with some other notable locals of the time. Earle R. Forrest mentions Simpson's claim on page 141 in his first volume of History of Washington County, Pennsylvania, but does not state the source of the claim.[15]


"Massacre of the Christian Indians" Gnadenhutten, Ohio. March 8, 1782 (Henry Howe, 1852)

A report from an unknown writer of the original Fort Cherry Association supports this theory and gives details of Thomas Cherry II holding ranks in both the Pennsylvania and Virginia militias as well as serving as a scout and spy for the Continental Army. This report claims that Thomas II was subject to a revenge killing by a Wyandot warrior. Details state that the Wyandot warrior deposited his body near the fort with a message written on bark to exact revenge from either the Tomlinson Run incident or the Gnadenhutten Massacre, of which is not specified.[16] These details are not documented in any other report and could be another bit of sensationalism to make a more compelling story. There is also no known record of any Thomas Cherry having served in the Continental Army. Could either Thomas have been present at Gnadenhutten, Ohio when 96 pacifistic unarmed Christian Native American men, women, and children were systematically raped, executed, and scalped? It is certainly possible, but even so, a meager eighteen of the militia soldiers present at the massacre voted against the murders and refused to participate, but did not succeed in preventing them. If Thomas Cherry II or III were present at Gnadenhutten on that terrible March day in 1782, there is no guarantee that he did or did not partake in the savagery of the Pennsylvania militia.


Other hints like the listing of Thomas Cherry on the Comptroller-General's reports upon provisions furnished to the Washington County Militia, read in Philadelphia, September 28, 1784, help to further connect one of the Thomas Cherrys to the militia, but fail to specify which one. This problem is also evident on page 199 in the 3rd Series, Volume 23 of the Pennsylvania Archives, where a Thomas Cherry is listed as a Ranger on the Frontier - 1778-1783.


After her husband's death, Mary Cherry remained at the fort and attended service at the Raccoon Presbyterian Church in Candor. Her name is among the signers of a call for Reverend Joseph Patterson in 1789.

A Pennsylvania long rifle similar to this would be the choice firearm of a frontiersman like Thomas Cherry II. (Public domain)

Present Day Location of Cherry’s Fort

Without much surprise, but with much disappointment, the present day location of Cherry’s Fort, along with the tales of what happened there, are almost entirely forgotten to the modern community. We are aware of what is believed to have been the location of both the fort and the family cemetery, but evidence of either is long gone. 


The threat of the attacking indigenous people did not last very long after the fort served its purpose to the settler community. Because of unjust views and actions by several of the frontiersmen and unsatisfactory policy enforcement by the government, all of the native people in the area were completely ousted by 1830. This meant that the functions of the forts were no longer relevant, and many were repurposed or fell into disrepair. 


William Perrin Cherry (1803-1890), the grandson of Thomas II and Mary was born at the site of the fort in 1803 and would go on to inherit 127.5 of the acres of the original Cherry land which he utilized as a farm. He died on the same farm on April 12, 1890.[25] To much surprise, the original William P. Cherry farmhouse still stands today. Although heavily remodeled, it is still slightly recognizable and is located along Cherry Valley Road.[11] 


An aerial view of the Cherry property as shown on an 1876 map compared to present day. Note the “Old Fort” marker on the 1876 map. While certainly noteworthy, we believe this marker’s location is incorrect, as with many other smaller details across all of the maps from the 1876 Caldwell’s Atlas of Washington County. (J.A. Caldwell / Google Maps)

A large barn in disrepair also stands on the property and is very likely to be original to the Cherry farm. Tax assessment places the date of construction at 1900, although this is likely an incorrect estimate, and is much older. Most references of the private cemetery place it just north of this barn.15 It should be noted that some sources suggest the cemetery is either on the southern side of Cherry Valley Road across from the house, or up the hill to the north of the house.[11] [24] Any of these could be true, but the majority of sources estimate it to be near the barn or up the hill.


Multiple bodies were said to have been buried in the cemetery such as those of Thomas II, his wife Mary, and their son John, as well as some later family members.[12] A notable neighbor named Captain Zachariah Rankin was notoriously bitten by a rabid wolf and interred in the cemetery in 1785.[14] Unknown Native Americans are also reported to be buried in the lost cemetery.[19] Some of the graves were marked with headstones for the duration of the Cherrys’ ownership over the land, but in 1890, with the death of William P. Cherry, the farm was sold to a new owner - Martin Raab. Legend has it that Martin Raab was not the most respectful gentleman, and so he took the headstones from the cemetery and repurposed them as foundation stones for an outbuilding, and then proceeded to use the now unmarked burial ground as a field for his hogs. The bodies were never removed.[34]


Newspaper ad for the sale of William P. Cherry’s property from The Daily Notes, Canonsburg, October 4, 1890

It can be said with a high degree of certainty that Cherry’s Fort stood roughly five yards to the northeast of the William P. Cherry house.[10]  Below are two photographs of the farm at different years to highlight the amount of changes the site has seen through recent history. No actual evidence of the fort can be seen in any of these photos.



Photos from The Settlers Forts of Western Pennsylvania detail the location of Cherry's Fort. This was identified in 1997 by John A. DeMay and former Fort Cherry School District principal Ray Johnston. (DeMay, 1997)



This 1966 aerial photo shows William P. Cherry's house before a remodel to the bottom left, which is said to have been built just south of the fort's location.

We do not know if the fort was razed, burnt down, or just neglected until collapse, but we do know that traces of it could still be seen as recently as the 1900s. In 1932 an organization known as the Pennsylvania Society of National Shrines of the American Revolution formed the Fort Cherry Association, composed of multiple descendants of the original Cherry family such as Frank H. Cherry, William H. Cherry, Vincent O. Cherry, and Mary McElhaney. Through this organization, the site of the fort became a popular place of pilgrimage for descendants and history enthusiasts alike.[6] [12] [16] 


It is described in several newspaper articles that the Fort Cherry Association properly identified and marked the lost graves of those who were buried in the Cherry family cemetery. Curiously, no trace of these markers is known, and separate expeditions by Janice Foflygen (1973) and John DeMay, in conjunction with Ray Johnston (1997), to identify them did not end in success and the exact location remains unknown.[11] [34]


The Fort Cherry Association made attempts to properly mark the site of the fort with a historical marker, but if this marker was ever placed, its duration was not long, and no trace of it can be seen today. Newspapers such as the Daily Republican of Monongahela and the Pittsburgh Press reported that a historical marker, or “memorial tablet” was indeed placed at the site of the fort on the day of Sunday, August 6, 1933, and it was written that six hundred spectators were in attendance. These ceremonies appear to have happened each year on the first Sunday of every August through 1936. There was either some confusion of details at the hands of the journalists, or the markers were removed for unknown reasons. How could it be that this site was of such historical importance in the 1930s that hundreds of people could gather there for a ceremony, and yet today has been deduced to nothing more than an obscurity? 



Legacy of the Fort

Today, the school district of Fort Cherry, named in honor of the Cherry family's fort, and located slightly over one mile east of the old fort site, covers an area of 58 square miles, in which over 8,000 residents reside. The district was established in 1954 and ever since, the name of Fort Cherry has lived on in the everyday lives of its residents, but the details about the origin of the name remain nothing more than a mysterious legend, mostly unknown to many of the locals.


Northeast Entrance of Fort Cherry Jr/Sr High School (Homes.com)

While we may never know all of the accurate facts about the origins and experiences of the Cherry family and their fort, we know with certainty that this fort did exist and that it did serve as the home and fortress of multiple Mount Pleasant Township families. We will never find a way to go back into the past to gather accurate information on this topic, but we currently have enough of an idea of the setting to paint an accurate portrayal of just how life would’ve been like in a time so close, yet so distant. 

To us, the United States 250 years ago seems like a lost, almost mythical setting that we will never fully comprehend or understand in its fullest, but in the vast timeline of human history, it may as well have been last week. At the time of the writing of this article, those who lived in the dangerous setting of the colonial frontier could be as close as three to four generations away from those whose descendants currently inhabit the same lands. We can only imagine the wealth of knowledge we could find from those generations in between who serve as our unbreakable link into the mysterious world of yesterday. As we progress onward into the future, interest in this history by the local community will likely continue to wane, and these stories could be completely forgotten if they are not maintained and protected. Our rural lands and lifestyles are at threat of extinction more so than ever before in our history and these stories may one day be all that remain of the origins of our heritage on the frontier of this great nation. Corporations, carelessness, and crises will continue to change our lives, our homes, and our culture in unpredictable ways, and there is little we can do to stop this trend, but as long as we remain wardens of our histories and heritage, they can never be taken from us.


Works Cited

  1. Albert, G. D. Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania. Vol. 2 W.S. Ray, Pennsylvania, State Printer, 1896

  2. Beers, J. H. & Co. Commemorative Biographical Record of Washington County, Pennsylvania: Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, and of Many of the Early Settled Families. United States: J. H. Beers, 1893

  3. Bell, M. R. Records of Washington County (PA) 1787-1799 Yohogania County (VA) 1776-1781 Ohio County (VA) 1776-1781, Coralville, Iowa, United States, 1997

  4. “Burial Place to be Marked, Site of Old Fort Will be Gathering Place Next Sunday,” The Daily Notes, July 30, 1936

  5. Caldwell, J. A. Caldwell’s Illustrated, Historical, Centennial Atlas of Washington Co., Pennsylvania. From Actual Surveys by & Under the Directions of J.A. Caldwell, Assisted by C.T. Arms, SR. [And Others] E. Bott, Artist. United States: J.A. Caldwell, 1876

  6. “Ceremony for Revolutionary Heroes Sunday, Allegheny Judges Will Speak at Exercises in Church,” The Daily Notes, August 3, 1935

  7. Cherry, M. L. Early Firelands Families. Vol. 1 : the Cherry Tree. Sandusky, Ohio, United States: M.L. Cherry, 1940

  8. Cherry, Thomas. “To be Sold,” Maryland Journal, September 25, 1773

  9. Creigh, A. History of Washington County: From Its First Settlement to the Present Time : First Under Virginia as Yohogania, Ohio, Or Augusta County Until 1781 : and Subsequently Under Pennsylvania; with Sketches of All the Townships, Boroughs, and Villages, Etc. : and to which is Added a Full Account of the Celebrated Mason and Dixon's Line, the Whiskey Insurrection, Indian Warfare, Traditional and Local Historical Events. United States: B. Singerly, 1871

  10. Crumrine, Boyd, Ellis, F., Hungerford, A. N. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, United States: H.L. Everts & Co., 1882.

  11. DeMay, J. A. The Settlers' Forts of Western Pennsylvania: Thank You Ann Hupp, and You, Too, Samuel Brady. United States: Closson Press, 1997.

  12. “Descendants of Cherry Family Will Hold Meeting at Old Fort,” The Daily Notes, August 1, 1933.

  13. Egle, W. H., Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Volume 23. United States: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wm. Stanley Ray, State Printer, 1897.

  14. Doddridge, J., Doddridge, N., Ritenour, J. S., Lindsey, W. T., Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania. United States: Ritenour & Lindsey, 1912.

  15. Forrest, E. R. History of Washington County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. United States: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926.

  16. “Fort Cherry Association Hears Brief History of Pioneer Group,” The Daily Notes, August 6, 1936.

  17. Godcharles, F. A., “Today’s Story in Pennsylvania History - British Destroy Moravian Indian Town on Order of De Peyster, August 25, 1781,” York Daily Republican, August 25, 1924

  18. “Graves of Indian Fighters Marked,” The Daily Republican, September 26, 1932.

  19. “Historic Cherry Fort Will Receive Marker,” The Daily Republican, August 3, 1933.

  20. Horn, W. F. The Horn Papers: Early Westward Movement on the Monongahela and Upper Ohio, 1765-1795. United States: a Committee of the Greene County Historical Society, Waynesburg, PA, 1945.

  21. Lindsey, W. A, “Historic Markers,” Washington Observer, January 28, 1965.

  22. McFarland, J. F.  20th Century History of the City of Washington and Washington County, Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens. United States: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co., 1910.

  23. “Memorial to Mark Revolutionary Fort,” The Pittsburgh Press, August 5, 1933.

  24. Mulkearn, L., Pugh, E. V. A Traveler's Guide to Historic Western Pennsylvania. United States: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1954.

  25. Obituary. William P. Cherry, The Washington Observer, May 1, 1890

  26. O'Dell, Cecil. Pioneers of Old Frederick County, Virginia. United States: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1995.

  27. “Old Fort is Site of Fine Meet Sunday,” The Daily Notes, August 7, 1933

  28. “Our Pioneer History. The Cherry Fort - By Whom and How Built - Way it Was Never Attacked - Edward Cherry, Sr., and Black Charles - The Fort Defended by Women - How the Indians were Deceived,” Washington Observer, May 2, 1878.

  29. “Our Pioneer History. The Killing of John Cherry and the Moravian Massacre - Why the Cherrys Joined that Expedition…,” Washington Observer, May 17, 1878.

  30. “Pioneer Heroes Honored,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, August 7, 1933

  31. Poe, A. W.  A True History of the Three Brave Indian Spies, John Cherry, Andrew and Adam Poe, Who Wiped Out Big Foot and His Two Brothers, Styled Sons of the Half King. United States: Georgetown PA, 1887.

  32. “Shrine is Dedicated, 600 Persons Attend Ceremony in Washington County,” The Pittsburgh Press, August 7, 1933

  33. Waddell, L. M., Bomberger, B. The French and Indian War in Pennsylvania, 1753-1763: Fortification and Struggle During the War for Empire. United States: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1996.

  34. White, A. D. Mount Pleasant Town - Township Communities Being a History of Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania with Accounts of Families, Towns and Communities, Institutions and Events From its Formation on May 12, 1806 to the Present. United States: Board of Supervisors of Mt. Pleasant Township, 1981.

  35. Wiseman, C. M. L. Pioneer Period and Pioneer People of Fairfield County, Ohio. United States: F. J. Heer Printing Company, 1901.

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