Fort Venango

1878 map that shows the position of Fort Venango

Location:
742 Elk St, Franklin, PA 16323

Description:
Fort Venango, constructed in 1760 near present-day Franklin, Pennsylvania, replaced the French Fort Machault at the junction of French Creek and the Allegheny River. After the French surrender of Fort Niagara in August 1759, they razed Fort Machault and withdrew northward, prompting the British to build Fort Venango the following summer. However, during Pontiac's War in June 1763, the fort was besieged and destroyed.

With the British capture of Fort Duquesne in November 1758 and Fort Niagara in July 1759, the French were compelled to retreat from Pennsylvania, abandoning and burning Fort Machault, Fort Le Boeuf, and Fort Presque Isle in August 1759. General Robert Monckton secured permission from Native American leaders to construct and maintain forts in western Pennsylvania.

During Pontiac's War on June 16, 1763, Seneca and Mingo warriors, led by Seneca chief Guyasuta, overran Fort Venango. They gained entry by feigning friendship and unarmed status, as recounted by various sources. After seizing the fort, they killed the garrison and subjected Lieutenant Francis Gordon, the commander, to a gruesome death by fire after forcing him to document their grievances against the British.

Following the attack, General Jeffery Amherst denounced the perpetrators, expressing the inadequacy of any punishment for their barbarity. Survivors from the attack on Fort Le Boeuf discovered the charred remains of Fort Venango's garrison upon reaching the site.

The location of Fort Venango now serves as a historical landmark in Franklin, Pennsylvania, commemorated by a marker erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1971. Nearby, a stone roadside marker succinctly notes the fort's construction by the English in 1760 and its subsequent destruction by Native Americans in 1763.