Fort Pitt Blockhouse
| Fort Pitt Blockhouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Former names | Bouquet's Blockhouse Bouquet's Redoubt Old Block House |
| General information | |
| Type | Redoubt |
| Location | Point State Park, Pittsburgh |
| Coordinates | 40°26′28″N 80°00′35″W / 40.4412°N 80.0098°WCoordinates: 40°26′28″N 80°00′35″W / 40.4412°N 80.0098°W |
| Completed | 1764 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Forks of the Ohio | |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000643 |
| PAHMC HM #: | 1644 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL: | October 9, 1960 |
| Designated PAHMC HM: | May 8, 1959 |
| Designated PHLF HL: | unknown |
The Fort Pitt Blockhouse (sometimes called Bouquet's Blockhouse or Bouquet's Redoubt) is a historic building in Point State Park in the city of Pittsburgh. It was constructed in 1764 as a redoubt of Fort Pitt, making it the oldest extant structure in Western Pennsylvania, as well as the "oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains".
Construction
Fort Pitt was completed in 1761 and survived a difficult siege in 1763 during Pontiac's Rebellion. One of the problems with the design of the fort which came to light during the siege was that none of its bastions were effective at repelling snipers. In response to this weakness, Henry Bouquet initiated the construction of a small number of redoubts for sharpshooters in 1764, of which only the Fort Pitt Blockhouse survives.
History
When Fort Pitt was demolished in 1797, the Blockhouse was left untouched because it did not lie within the fort's walls. The structure was converted into a private house at an unknown date. In 1894, philanthropist Mary Schenley presented the deed to the Blockhouse to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She did this specifically so that the structure might be preserved for future generations:
Industrialist Henry Clay Frick purchased all of the land surrounding the Blockhouse in 1902, shortly before Schenley's death. He offered the DAR $25,000 to move the Blockhouse to Schenley Park; however, the DAR refused. Following lengthy litigation, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of the DAR and the Blockhouse, enabling its continued preservation.
The structure has never been fully demolished or moved during its centuries of existence, but the modern structure is "almost totally rebuilt". Franklin Toker notes that the structure "retains its original sandstone base, a complete rim of wooden girders, and coursed common-bond brick walls".
Today
Although the Blockhouse resides within the boundaries of Point State Park, it is owned and operated by the Fort Pitt Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The DAR allows visitors to the park to tour the structure. The building is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as being the sole surviving historical building in the "Forks of the Ohio (Site of Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt, Bouquet's Blockhouse)" historic place. It also has a historical marker issued by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is a Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation designated Historic Landmark.
Maps and illustrations
Before construction
After construction
References
- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pittsburgh_Volume_3_Plate_1.jpg
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- "Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program: Fort Pitt Blockhouse". Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_36333_2539_0_43/PHMCWebSearch/ViewMarker.aspx?markerId=1644. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
- ^ (photo), Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 2007, http://www.phlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Plaque1.jpg, retrieved 2011-07-15
- "Forks of the Ohio". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=473&ResourceType=Site. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ "Fort Pitt Blockhouse Historical Marker". ExplorePAHistory.com. http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-8A. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- Durant, Samuel W. (1876). "Plan of Fort Pitt". http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Pitt_1795_large.jpg. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Point State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/point.aspx. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- Mellon, Steve. "The Blockhouse, Point State Park". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://postgazette.com/pg/08280/917212-429.stm. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ^ Toker, Franklin (2009). Pittsburgh: A New Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
- ^ Toker, Franklin (2007). Buildings of Pittsburgh. Chicago: Society of Architectural Historians. ISBN 978-0-8139-2650-6.
- ^ "The Point: The Block House". Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/point/point_n71.html. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- Atlantic Reporter. 79. St. Paul: West Publishing Co.. 1911. pp. 128. http://books.google.com/books?id=-twKAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA128&ots=lyx6HY0XSV&dq=blockhouse%20schenley%20frick&pg=PA128#v=onepage&q=blockhouse%20schenley%20frick&f=false.
- ^ Daughters of the American Revolution magazine. 5. 1894. pp. 160. http://books.google.com/books?id=aOcWAAAAYAAJ&dq=daughters%20of%20the%20american%20revolution%20blockhouse&pg=PA160#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Notes
- The specific number of redoubts constructed in 1764 is variously listed as two (Toker 2007) or five (Toker 2009).
External links
Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Pitt_Blockhouse
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