Fort Elk Garden

Fort Elk Garden (1774-1794) - A colonial stockaded Indian defense built by Capt. John Kinkead.

Fort Elk Garden History

Originally seven militia forts were to be constructed in 1774 during Lord Dunmore's War against hostile Indian tribes. Capt. William Russell was to command four of the forts on the Lower Clinch River and Capt. Daniel Smith was to command three forts on the Upper Clinch River. These forts were to be erected by the local militia men supervised by Colonel William Christian who had been sent out to the frontier by Col. William Preston who was commanding officer of the Fincastle County Militia. The forts were generally named for the landowners where they were located and/or the military commanders. Many of them had multiple names as landowners and commanders changed.

Even though Lord Dunmore's War ended in 1774, the Indian attacks continued until 1794 when the Indian renegade leader, Benge, was killed near Big Stone Gap.

Capt. Russell Lower Clinch River Forts		Capt. Smith Upper Clinch River Forts
Fort Preston (2) Fort Christian Fort Byrd Fort Blackmore	Russell's Fort, Cowan's Fort, Bickley's Fort Glade Hollow Fort, Daniel Smith's Fort Moore's Fort, Snoddy's Fort Blackmore's Fort	Fort Elk Garden Fort Witten Maiden Springs Fort

Landowners around Fort Elk Garden included Capt. John Dunkin, Capt. John Kinkead, Richard Price and Soloman Litton.

Current Status

{"selectable":false,"width":"500"}

Location: Fort Site located 8 miles east of Lebanon, VA on a hill top above a church on Rte 80. Maps & Images Lat: 36.9319 Long: -81.9684 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation:

Sources:

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Elk Garden
• Roots Web - Fort Elk Garden

Visited: No

Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!