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Fort Bigham
Fort Bigham (sometimes referred to as Bigham's Fort; renamed Fort Bingham after 1760) was a privately built stockaded blockhouse fort constructed in 1754 near present-day Honey Grove in Tuscarora Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. It was built by Samuel Bigham on his land to protect his family and neighbors from Indians. In June, 1756 the fort was attacked and the people in it, mostly women and children, were all captured or killed. The fort was largely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1760 and abandoned in 1763.
Samuel Bigham (1717-1804) arrived in the area from Ireland around 1742 and applied for a 100-acre land grant in Juniata County in February, 1755. At that time, he had already built the fort near his homestead in late 1754, with the help of his neighbors John and James Gray and Robert Hoag, to protect his family and neighbors from Indian raids which were becoming increasingly frequent in the months leading up to the French and Indian War.
One source describes the fort as "nothing more than a log cabin fitted with loopholes for defense." Another source refers to it as "a strong block-house and small stockade." It is possible that Bigham constructed a fortified cabin, then built his fort around it. The fort was located on the Traders' Path leading from Cumberland County, past Fort Robinson in Perry County, through Bingham's Gap to the fort in Juniata County, and continuing westward through Franklin County to Fort Shirley at Aughwick township in Fulton County.
As tension rose between the British, the French, and local Native American tribes, Bigham ordered "a quarter-cask of powder and seventy-five pounds of lead" which was delivered to him on 7 April 1756. Soon afterwards, for safety reasons, Bigham took his family and moved to York County, and was not present when the fort was attacked.
The fort was attacked and destroyed by French soldiers and Indians on 11 June 1756. Reportedly the Indians were Lenape warriors from Kittanning led by Tamaqua, often referred to as "King Beaver." French correspondence shows that Ensign Pierre-Louis Boucher Niverville de Montizambert was ordered by Governor-General Vaudreuil to attack Fort Shirley, but when he arrived with seven French soldiers and 20 Indians, they decided that the fort was too well-defended, and chose to assault Fort Bigham instead. The report adds that they "returned with 18 prisoners and five scalps." There is no definitive account of the numbers of dead or of those captured.
The Pennsylvania Gazette of 12 June 1756 reported the following account of the fort's destruction:
On 24 June the Gazette published the following list of those killed or captured:
A forty-five man scouting party searched along the Susquehanna River to Fort Augusta, and to just west of Fort Bigham, but did not find the enemy.
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Fort Bigham
Fort Bigham (sometimes referred to as Bigham's Fort; renamed Fort Bingham after 1760) was a privately built stockaded blockhouse fort constructed in 1754 near present-day Honey Grove in Tuscarora Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. It was built by Samuel Bigham on his land to protect his family and neighbors from Indians. In June, 1756 the fort was attacked and the people in it, mostly women and children, were all captured or killed. The fort was largely destroyed. It was rebuilt in 1760 and abandoned in 1763.
Samuel Bigham (1717-1804) arrived in the area from Ireland around 1742 and applied for a 100-acre land grant in Juniata County in February, 1755. At that time, he had already built the fort near his homestead in late 1754, with the help of his neighbors John and James Gray and Robert Hoag, to protect his family and neighbors from Indian raids which were becoming increasingly frequent in the months leading up to the French and Indian War.
One source describes the fort as "nothing more than a log cabin fitted with loopholes for defense." Another source refers to it as "a strong block-house and small stockade." It is possible that Bigham constructed a fortified cabin, then built his fort around it. The fort was located on the Traders' Path leading from Cumberland County, past Fort Robinson in Perry County, through Bingham's Gap to the fort in Juniata County, and continuing westward through Franklin County to Fort Shirley at Aughwick township in Fulton County.
As tension rose between the British, the French, and local Native American tribes, Bigham ordered "a quarter-cask of powder and seventy-five pounds of lead" which was delivered to him on 7 April 1756. Soon afterwards, for safety reasons, Bigham took his family and moved to York County, and was not present when the fort was attacked.
The fort was attacked and destroyed by French soldiers and Indians on 11 June 1756. Reportedly the Indians were Lenape warriors from Kittanning led by Tamaqua, often referred to as "King Beaver." French correspondence shows that Ensign Pierre-Louis Boucher Niverville de Montizambert was ordered by Governor-General Vaudreuil to attack Fort Shirley, but when he arrived with seven French soldiers and 20 Indians, they decided that the fort was too well-defended, and chose to assault Fort Bigham instead. The report adds that they "returned with 18 prisoners and five scalps." There is no definitive account of the numbers of dead or of those captured.
The Pennsylvania Gazette of 12 June 1756 reported the following account of the fort's destruction:
On 24 June the Gazette published the following list of those killed or captured:
A forty-five man scouting party searched along the Susquehanna River to Fort Augusta, and to just west of Fort Bigham, but did not find the enemy.