Fort Stanwix was constructed between 1758 and 1762 under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York. It was initially built to guard a portage known as the Oneida Carry during the French and Indian War. The British abandoned the fort in 1768.
In 1776, the fort was reoccupied, reconstructed, and renamed by Colonial troops. The next year, they were besieged by The King’s 8th Regiment of Foot, loyalists, and Native Americans, who had invaded from Canada via Lake Ontario, hoping to reach the Hudson River. The British failure to capture the fort and proceed down the Mohawk Valley was a severe setback and helped lead to the defeat of General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga.
The fort burned to the ground on May 13, 1781, and was not rebuilt.
Under the direction of the National Park Service, the fort was reconstructed in mid-1970s. From 1976 until the mid-1990s, the site used first-person interpretation to portray the fort immediately after the siege. More recently, third-person interpretation has extended visitor understanding to the French and Indian War as well as the role the fort played during treaty negotiations with Native Americans.
Source: Wikipedia
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One of the oldest roads in the state, Fort Road was originally built by the federal government after Fort Ridgely was completed in 1853-54. Supplies were shipped from Fort Snelling to Traverse des Sioux, then transported by wagon to Fort Ridgely.
Nicollet County Road 5 runs more than 42 miles from its eastern terminus at its intersection with US Highway 169 in St Peter to the Renville County line. Old Fort Road presumably extended from Traverse des Sioux, although the portion running through the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College has been blocked off. Fort Road as an address runs from the western edge of St Peter to the end of CR-5.
In an ideal world, a paved trail would have been installed when the road was refurbished in the early 2010s. This planned geocache trail will have to suffice, but won’t alleviate my anxiety when biking here.