By Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15154438
In 1775, an unnamed fort was built at the entrance to the Fairhaven-New Bedford harbor. The first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War was fought nearby on May 14, 1775. The fort itself was destroyed by the British in 1778 when they raided the harbor, but Patriot forces were able to prevent them from attacking the nearby town. The fort was then called Fort Fearing, but was given the name Fort Phoenix in 1784.
The fort has been rebuilt many times, including in 1798 and 1808. The HMS Nimrod bombarded the fort in 1814 when the local melitia refused to surrender its guns. Parts of the fort were rebuilt again during the Civil War.
Today, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Reenactments occur both spring and fall.
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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.