A Virtual Tour of Prickett's Fort (Part 1)

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation set out to build a facsimile of what they believed the original Prickett's Fort looked like. Unfortunately, part way through the project, it became apparent that they had based their "reconstruction" plan on a fraudulent document (the so-called Stephen Morgan account). At that point, rather than abandon the project or change the design, they decided to proceed as originally planned. When it was completed, the Foundation officially designated the structure the "Memorial Fort" because it was meant to stand as a memorial to those settlers who had lived, fought, loved, and in many cases died on the western Virginia frontier. Whether or not the present structure looks anything like the original Prickett's Fort is impossible to say with any degree of certainty. Regardless, the important point is that the fort not only serves as a memorial, but it also functions as a valuable educational tool. By visiting the "reconstructed" fort located near Fairmont, West Virginia, modern Americans can glimpse what it may have been like to live on the colonial Virginia frontier during the 1770s.

Over the next several days, I will take you on a virtual tour of the Memorial Fort.