Old Virginia Fort (Revolutionary War project/restoration)

2,069 Views | 9 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by nortex97
nortex97
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5:34a, 1/8/24
AG
Long thread, pretty fascinating what all this guy found/did in this project;








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Anyways, there's a lot more… Why did we do this and what are our plans for this place? We have no idea. We just wanted to save it.

I believe it may be the only one left of its kind along the original Virginia frontier. Most, if not all, are nothing but stains in the ground (if archaeologists can even find them). This one, you can see and touch all the original architectural features that nobody living has ever seen.

Here I am showing it to Dr. Ron Ripley for the first time, the historian who predicted the fort would be found inside the walls.
Worth clicking thru IMHO if you are into that sort of thing. He has some (but not a lot, compared to that thread) on his youtube channel;




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KingofHazor
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In reply to nortex97 • 8:21a, 1/8/24
Thanks for posting. I find it intensely interesting. I lived in south central PA for a few years, and there were known sites of old forts and massacres. However, as your lawyer/archaeologist says, all of the evidence for them is long gone, at least as far as the naked eye while driving by.

For example, near where I lived was a large hill where almost an entire family had been massacred by the Shawnee. The family consisted of father, mom, older son, and then about 5 girls. The son was gone when the Shawnee attacked and was the only survivor. As best as I could find out, the son then disappears from history. I've always wondered what happened to him and whether he was able to deal with the aftermath of his family's massacre, including survivor's guilt.

I also wonder how many of the older houses in that part of the world are hiding even older structures, like in your posts? I remember reading that when the Eisenhowers purchased their farm at Gettysburg they discovered that the house actually hid an even older log house. The logs were rotting, though, so they simply destroyed the house and built new.

There were still a fair number of very old log houses where I lived, but they had little romantic charm. The logs were often old and moldy, the ceilings were frequently only 6' high, if that, and the foundations were very poor causing the houses to sag. I came to understand why people in the area generally viewed log homes as places only folks who couldn't afford more lived.
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nortex97
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In reply to KingofHazor • 8:54a, 1/8/24
AG
Thx. I agree it is fascinating. There are two challenges I think to maintaining such a building long term; (a) fire, and (b) the roof has to be maintained and replaced periodically. (To say nothing of the risk of a tornado etc).

Then this one was probably saved in part due to its ownership staying in the same family for so long so there wasn't a lot of 'redevelopment' etc. on the property.

All of that is really rare for multiple centuries for a wooden structure, and it's also why churches or government buildings (fire specifically) don't tend to last that long.

Contrarily, if you are in/about Gettysburg, there are still some very old buildings in town for instance from the time of the battle (including with cannon/gun fire marks) which is also a bit fascinating to think about. Still not quite that old though.
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KingofHazor
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In reply to nortex97 • 9:09a, 1/8/24
When I was in grade school my dad decided to retire from the Army and go back to grad school to get his PhD in history. He was accepted into the program at William & Mary, so off we went to Williamsburg. My folks looked at a bunch of houses to rent before buying a relatively new house. One of the houses we looked at was built before the Revolution. It still had rings for slave shackles in the basement and a cannon ball stuck in the chimney from the Civil War. My folks did not rent it because it would have been very awkward to live in. For example, it had no closets. Back when it was built, everyone used furniture to store clothing.

But our "old" stuff is considered modern in Europe. Many years ago I went to visit some friends who were in a French language school in Albertville, France. Albertville is placed at a very strategic location at the confluence of three valleys that reach into France, Italy, and Spain. As a result, there has been a town there since before Roman times.

My friends had a local friend who took us out to watch an airshow in the mountains and then returned to his apartment for wine and snacks. His apartment was inside the wall of an ancient medieval town inside Albertville that predated Albertville. Historians and archaeologists estimate that the wall, which also comprised the walls of his apartment, was over 2,000 years old!
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Gator92
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4:10p, 1/8/24
AG
Early Virginia Settlers used Spanish Silver?


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KingofHazor
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4:47p, 1/8/24
It was commonly used throughout the frontier. Spanish currency could make its way to Va/West Va up the Mississippi and then up the Ohio and its tributaries. We got the word "bit" (1/8 of a Spanish dollar) and "dollar" itself from Spanish.
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LMCane
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8:32a, 1/9/24
so can people go see this Revolutionary War Fort now in West Virginia?
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Sapper Redux
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In reply to Gator92 • 9:04a, 1/9/24
Hard currency was in extremely short supply in the colonies. Any gold or silver would enter circulation, regardless of origin. And since Spain controlled the silver mines of Central America, much of the silver in the colonies was of Spanish origin.
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nortex97
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In reply to LMCane • 1:34p, 1/9/24
AG
I don't believe he has opened it for tourism purposes, at this point. There's a fake book site but I believe it is from when the prior family owned it/pre-restoration; from the looks of the videos I think he actually lives there.

https://www.facebook.com/byrnsidefort

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nortex97
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6:21p, 1/10/24
AG
He's a funny guy. A flea market find/story.

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