Fort St. Clair Site
Why it's listed
Fort St. Clair was a small frontier supply post built in 1791-92 about one mile west of Eaton in Preble County, Ohio. Ordered by General James Wilkinson and named for Governor Arthur St. Clair, it stood between Fort Hamilton to the south and Fort Jefferson to the north, protecting the supply line that ran from Fort Washington at Cincinnati toward the Miami Indian villages. A plan found in archival papers suggests a bastion at each of four corners. On November 6, 1792, Little Turtle and a band of warriors attacked a militia convoy camped at the fort, and the fight lasted until the Indians withdrew with most of the pack horses. Six men who died are buried in a fenced plot beneath a large oak. Nothing of the fort survives; the nominated area is a grassy memorial site with a bronze tablet on a boulder. The State of Ohio and the Ohio Historical Society acquired the land in 1923 and 1933.
Significance in brief: The fort was one of a line of small supply forts protecting the route from Fort Washington at Cincinnati toward the Miami villages in present Indiana. It was the scene of a November 6, 1792 attack by Little Turtle's warriors on a militia convoy. The graves of six men killed in that action lie at the site.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 70000514, listed November 10, 1970. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1 mi. W of Eaton, Eaton |
|---|---|
| County | Preble County |
| Listed | November 10, 1970 |
| Reference number | 70000514 |
| Resource type | Site |
| Period of significance | 1792 |
| Architect / builder | Built by order of General James Wilkinson |
| Areas of significance | Military |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Nothing of the fort remains; the site is a grassy area within a state memorial park, and the nominated area covers only the fort site and cemetery (historical zone). The form marks the site as occupied and open to the public. |
| Acreage | 27 |
| Coordinates | 39.73796, -84.65419 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Sites (archaeological sites, battlefields, landscapes) are often listed with a restricted address to protect them from looting or disturbance. Listing is honorary for private owners; federal undertakings on or near the site go through Section 106 review, and state laws may protect burials and artefacts regardless of listing.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 70000514.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.