Fort Pitt Blockhouse - Pittsburgh, PA
N 40° 26.469 W 080° 00.585
17T E 583981 N 4477193
The Fort Pitt Blockhouse is the only remaining remnant of Fort Pitt. It is the oldest authenticated structure west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is located in Point State Park in Pittsburgh, PA.
Waymark Code: WM3KE9
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 04/15/2008
Views: 38
The Fort Pitt Blockhouse (open 9-5 weekdays) entrance Penn Ave. between Water and Barbeau Sts., is the last vestige of frontier Pittsburgh. It was erected just within the forks of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers by Colonel Henry Boquet, commandant of Fort Pitt, in 1764. For almost a century the redoubt was neglected; in 1892 it was presented by Mary E. Schenley, who had inherited the property and structure, to the Daughters of the American Revolution. It is a five-sided structure, 22 feet from floor to rrof, constructed of rough-hewn gray stone and bricks laid in English bond. Heavy timbers, notched for rifle barrels, encircle the building at the height of a man's shoulder and again just under the eaves of the shingled pyramidal roof. On the grounds are a sandstone sundial, found within the redoubt, and other Colonial relics.
--- Pennsylvania A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940
Today
The blockhouse still stands in Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh and is still open to be toured.