 9th Street in 2011 | |
  | |
| Location | 9th St. just N of Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°26′37″N79°59′54″W / 40.4437°N 79.99834°W /40.4437; -79.99834 |
| Built/founded | September 4, 1792 |
| Demolished | yes |
| PHMC dedicated | December 1, 1958 |
Fort Lafayette, later renamedFort Fayette, (1792–1814) was an Americanfort inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It was constructed in June 1792 by Major GeneralAnthony Wayne upon his commission to form theLegion of the United States.
It was sited near present-day Penn Avenue and Ninth Street in theCultural District ofDowntown Pittsburgh.
At the strategic position of theforks of the Ohio (where theMonongahela andAllegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River near present-day Pittsburgh), a series of forts was built by the French, British and U.S. Continental armies starting in 1754. The French fort built in 1754 was named Du Quesne, later changed toDuquesne. Under imminent British attack in 1758, the French abandoned the fort and burned it to the ground. Between 1759 and 1761, the British built Fort Pitt on the site. It fell into bad shape and was decommissioned in 1772. Thereafter Virginians took control of the fort and called it Fort Dunmore. It was a staging point for Lord Dunmore's war in 1774.
The opening of Ohio Country to settlement and the construction of frontier forts starting with Fort Washington in 1789 prompted the United States in 1792 to build Fort Lafayette in Pittsburgh, to replaceFort Pitt, as a supply center forFort McIntosh and downstream forts on theOhio River. On September 4, 1792,Anthony Wayne establishes the fort.[1] The name was later shortened to Fayette.
In 1803, Fort Fayette was a staging ground for theLewis and Clark Expedition. The fort later served asCommodoreOliver Hazard Perry's supply base during theWar of 1812. The army abandoned the fort in 1814.
40°26′38″N79°59′54″W / 40.44392°N 79.99836°W /40.44392; -79.99836
