{"nrhp_refnum":"70000518","name":"Fort Laurens Site","other_names":["Fort Laurens Site State Memorial"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Near OH 212, 0.5 mi. S of Bolivar","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bolivar","county":"Tuscarawas County","state":"OH","lat":40.639038269000054,"lon":-81.45584029863005,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Fort Laurens Site is the location of a Revolutionary War frontier fort built in 1778 on the Tuscarawas River, about half a mile south of Bolivar in Lawrence Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. It is a state memorial owned by the State of Ohio and administered by the Ohio Historical Society.","why_significant":"The fort was built as part of a chain of blockhouses from Fort Pitt toward the British stronghold at Detroit. It was meant to protect friendly Delawares and to serve as a starting point for a campaign against hostile Wyandot towns. It is described as the only U.S. fort on Ohio soil during the Revolutionary War.","narrative":"Fort Laurens Site, about half a mile south of Bolivar, Ohio, marks where an American frontier fort stood during the Revolutionary War. Troops under Gen. Lachlan McIntosh began building it in November 1778, naming it for Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress. It was meant to protect friendly Delawares and to launch an American campaign against Wyandot towns near Sandusky. The log fort, roughly 130 feet square, held a garrison of about 200 men and had a two-story blockhouse as its main defence. Supply lines were cut, and the garrison was besieged for about a month before relief arrived. The fort was evacuated in August 1779 because its position was judged impractical. Nothing is visible above ground today. A marker commemorates the site, and a 1971 test survey located part of the stockade wall and a bastion. The state memorial honours the men who built and defended the only U.S. fort on Ohio soil during the Revolution.","period_of_significance":"1778","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Ruins; no visible traces of the fort remain above ground. A historic marker stands on the site, and a small museum pavilion was planned. A test archaeological survey in spring 1971 tentatively located part of the stockade wall and southwest bastion.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.433411-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/70000518.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000518/feeb4a53a3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000518/feeb4a53a3-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Roseohioresident","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Laurens_southwest_bastion.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Roseohioresident</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Laurens_southwest_bastion.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991768","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Laurens","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5471486"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/tuscarawas-county/fort-laurens-site-70000518/"}