Discover the compelling history of Fort Harmar, Ohio’s inaugural frontier military fortification, built strategically at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. This vital outpost, established in 1785 under Colonel Josiah Harmar, played an indispensable role in shaping the early American frontier, from preventing unauthorized settlements to facilitating the orderly expansion into the Northwest Territory.
Fort Harmar stood as a beacon of federal authority in a volatile region, aiming to protect Native American lands from encroaching pioneer squatters while simultaneously safeguarding the critical federal survey crews mapping the nascent Seven Ranges for future public auctions. Its strategic placement and robust construction underscored its significance in a period marked by intense territorial disputes and the dawn of organized American expansion.
The Strategic Genesis of Fort Harmar
Constructed in 1785, Fort Harmar, Ohio, was the first United States military fort in the Ohio Country. Its primary purpose was twofold: to enforce federal land policies by preventing pioneer squatters from settling on unceded Indian lands northwest of the Ohio River and to evict those who had already established unauthorized residences. Furthermore, the fort provided essential protection for federal survey teams engaged in the meticulous task of gridding the Seven Ranges, a vast land tract in southeastern Ohio designated for public auction.
Under the command of Colonel Josiah Harmar, then commander of the United States Army, Major John Doughty, his company, and a contingent of officers and 150 men departed Fort McIntosh, Pennsylvania, on October 25, 1785. They arrived at the Muskingum River on November 5 and immediately commenced the construction of the fort, named in honor of Colonel Harmar. The site chosen was elevated bottom land on the west side of the Muskingum River, at its meeting point with the Ohio River.
Construction and Design: A Frontier Stronghold
The location of Fort Harmar was chosen with great deliberation, offering strategic command over both the mouth of the Muskingum River and a significant stretch of the Ohio River. The fort featured a pentagonal design, its walls spanning 120 feet and constructed from horizontally laid timber, rising 12 to 14 feet high, enclosing approximately three-quarters of an acre. Each of the five corners was reinforced with upright log bastions, three of which were equipped with cannons to deter potential aggressors, while the two facing the rivers were unarmed.
Inside the fort, officers’ quarters, built from hewn logs, were integrated into the bastions, standing one and a half to two stories tall. These comfortable quarters included kitchens and stone chimneys. Barracks for the enlisted men lined the main walls, featuring roofs that sloped inward and were crowned by a cupola. This cupola served as a sentinel post, and a flagstaff proudly flew atop it. Beneath the cupola was a guardhouse, and the barracks themselves were divided into 30-foot-long rooms, each furnished with fireplaces.
A well situated near the center of the fort provided a crucial water source during sieges, though for daily use, water was simply drawn from the river. Just outside the fort walls, extensive gardens were cultivated to supply fresh food for the soldiers, including vegetables and peach trees. Three substantial log buildings between the fort and the Muskingum River housed a blacksmith, a carpenter, and other mechanics. Although the first regular detachment moved into the new quarters on November 30, 1785, the fort was not fully completed until the spring of 1786. From 1786 to 1789, it served as the U.S. Army’s field headquarters for the entire western frontier, though ultimate military authority rested with Secretary of War Henry Knox in New York City.
Reflecting the relative security and comfort of the fort, a soldier stationed at Fort Harmar wrote on February 8, 1786, that it was “very commodious and completely finished — the gates are all shut at night, and we rest secure. If no hostilities should commence, we shall have an agreeable tour in this part of the world.”
The Ohio Company and Northwest Territory’s Dawn
The establishment of Fort Harmar coincided with significant efforts to organize and settle the vast western territories. On March 3, 1786, prominent figures Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper, Samuel Holden Parsons, and Manasseh Cutler convened in Boston, Massachusetts, to form the Ohio Company of Associates. This influential group’s objective was to purchase, settle, and market land in what is now southeastern Ohio, ultimately securing 1.5 million acres from Congress.
Colonel Josiah Harmar and his wife arrived at the fort on July 23, 1786, and he formally assumed command. A pivotal moment for the region came on July 13, 1787, when Congress enacted The Northwest Ordinance. This landmark legislation created the Northwest Territory—an expansive region encompassing land south of the Great Lakes, north of the Ohio River, west of Pennsylvania, and east of the Mississippi River—laying the groundwork for the formation of future states.
On April 7, 1788, Rufus Putnam, along with 47 other Ohio Company stockholders from New England, landed at the mouth of the Muskingum River. They founded Marietta, strategically located directly across the Muskingum River from Fort Harmar, marking one of the earliest permanent American settlements in the Northwest Territory. By July of the same year, Northwest Territorial Governor Arthur St. Clair and Territorial Secretary Winthrop Sargent arrived in Marietta, signifying the establishment of civil government and federal control over the burgeoning territory.
Challenges and Treaties: A Tumultuous Era
Despite the establishment of Fort Harmar and civil government, the frontier remained a volatile place. In July 1788, Colonel Josiah Harmar himself charged Lewis Wetzel with the murder of George Washington, a Delaware Indian who was loyal to the United States. Wetzel, after shooting Washington while he hunted on the Muskingum River, was arrested and jailed in Marietta but managed to escape before trial. He later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he faced imprisonment for counterfeiting, highlighting the rough justice of the frontier.
January 1789 saw the signing of two Treaties of Fort Harmar near the fort. One treaty involved representatives from the Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Potawatomi, and Sac tribes, while the other was signed with the Six Nations (though the Mohawk tribe did not attend). Territorial Governor St. Clair signed both agreements. However, these treaties proved largely ineffectual in curbing the escalating violence, as raids by both white settlers and Native American tribes intensified along the Ohio frontier, particularly to and from Kentucky. The rapid influx of immigrants seeking land downriver only exacerbated the frequency and severity of these conflicts.
Following the signing of these treaties, the government made the decision to relocate its territorial capital and military headquarters from Marietta to Cincinnati. In September, the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty with the western tribes, which President George Washington officially proclaimed. Yet, the Senate refused to ratify the treaty with the Six Nations, rendering it null and void. Ultimately, neither treaty succeeded in ushering in a lasting peace.
Harmar’s Defeat and the Fort’s Decline
In December 1789, Governor St. Clair and Colonel Josiah Harmar, along with 300 men, departed Fort Harmar for their new headquarters at the recently constructed Fort Washington. By January 1790 and throughout that year, only a small garrison of soldiers remained at Fort Harmar. Its defense increasingly fell to local militias, who protected Marietta and the developing perimeter settlements at Belpre and Waterford.
The frontier conflicts continued to rage, leading Secretary of War Henry Knox to authorize Harmar in October 1790 to confront Shawnee and renegade Cherokee bandits based at Kekionga (modern-day Fort Wayne). Harmar marched from Fort Washington with 320 regular soldiers and 1,100 militia, primarily Kentuckians, intent on destroying the villages at Kekionga. However, by October 22, a confederated army of Native Americans, expertly led by Miami Chief Little Turtle, decisively routed Harmar’s forces in what became infamously known as Harmar’s Defeat. The battle resulted in a significant loss for the American forces, with 183 men killed or missing and 31 wounded.
By December 1790, Captain David Zeigler commanded a sparsely manned and dilapidated Fort Harmar. The approximately 20 soldiers stationed there were largely wounded or ill, and the fort lacked artillery and crucial equipment. The deterioration was evident, prompting Major General Arthur St. Clair to write to Secretary of War Henry Knox on May 1, 1791, stating that Fort Harmar was in a “very ruinous situation. The pickets are very much decayed and the barracks very rotten…” He proposed that parts of the old fort be dismantled and that locals be allowed to inhabit the remaining sections.
The neglected fort was finally demolished in the summer of 1791. The area was subsequently redeveloped for other purposes, and the thriving settlement of Marietta expanded westward across the river, absorbing the historic site.
Legacy and Remembrance of Fort Harmar
On October 13, 1791, Josiah Harmar, who had served as the senior officer of the army from 1784 to 1791, tendered his resignation, effective January 1, 1792. While en route home to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he stopped in Marietta to visit friends, though specific accounts of this visit remain elusive. He later served as Adjutant General of Pennsylvania from 1793 to 1799, ultimately passing away on August 20, 1813.
The historic site of Fort Harmar, while no longer standing, continued to evolve. It eventually transformed into a market and later hosted the construction of two different schools. Today, this area of Marietta proudly retains the name Harmar, and the entire neighborhood has been rightfully listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Harmar Historic District. This enduring recognition ensures that the foundational role of Fort Harmar in the settlement and development of Ohio and the broader Northwest Territory is never forgotten.
