Wayne Memorial - Erie, PA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

According to the American Guide Series book on Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, A Guide to the Keystone State, pp. 224:

"The WAYNE MEMORIAL (open 8-8 daily), on site of the American Fort Presque Isle at foot of Ash St., is a reproduction of the blockhouse in which 'Mad' Anthony Wayne died in 1796. Square at the base, the log structure has an octagonal second story overhanging on all sides. The remains of General Wayne, for whom the State rebuilt the blockhouse as a memorial in 1880, lay buried at the foot of the flagstaff here until 1809,when the bones were removed to Radnor, near Philadelphia, for interment there (see Tour 8). The original French fort, erected at the foot of Parade Street, was abandoned and burned in 1759. Rebuilt by the English in 1760, it was captured by Indians during the uprising of I763. The original American blockhouse, its site marked by the memorial, was built in I795."

The Wayne Memorial is more commonly known as the Wayne Blockhouse. It is located on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Erie, Pennsylvania. The Blockhouse is accessible by entering the grounds at East 3rd and Ash Streets. As mentioned above, the Blockhouse is a recreation of a portion of the former Fort Presque Isle, where General Anthony Wayne died in 1796. The fort was destroyed in 1853, but Wayne's grave was rediscovered in 1878 and a replica of the blockhouse was constructed in 1879. Since that time it has been a popular tourist destination in the city of Erie.

The main reason for it being such a popular spot is the ghost story about Wayne that is associated with the location. A number of years after Wayne's death, his son came to retrieve his remains and bring them back to their home near Philadelphia to be buried in the family plot. Wayne's body was found to have not decomposed, however, and to allow for easier transport his flesh was boiled off of his bones. Part of his remains were deposited at the fort in Erie, while the bones were taken back with his son. The legend is that some of his bones were lost along the way on what is now Route 322 and that his ghost travels the road looking for his lost bones.

Whether or not this legend is true, the blockhouse is an interesting historical site to visit in Erie.

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Book: Pennsylvania Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 224 Year Originally Published: 1940

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