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iSYRACUSE POST-STANDARD, Aug. 14,1972* *Ci• • wi■«.■ ■. /. v‘4-';v5a'/* - ■ «JL■ I.-j#i .v‘■V.■ I■A♦ ■ fx^vX^vX'.^vxo.-. ■ ■■*!■ *■■ • 'j;* y -yy'vj-y Vi■’*'■■‘■I- ■■■■'^:■:■:■ ** o,,,v,x*-,^a,|1 ■.■ ”XO-c1 x^i■*.* s.'.-:£-:.y_-vs.Fljfl■ ''TV’/^TVFvl'T ■ T:?■:■■«. V.f : tlv:K :■ f* «:-LiJit LII^#EM8* Vi ♦■ ■'.1 i.illVv.*■■*-»i* ■ww■ * Ia\iViV,!?•' f jfj -V^v (• v *|11 V Vvsir£% wT?flr-- *I * p.as.1.iji-m*?- ■: BT’WV/■JsI, ^ ■ V .■-v-v-TI r.:,Vi-v.sav.”- •■ v.v.y * .* ■.v.*.■/.%■.',■.■*'-* v.-.- *.■ v.vi .vw.v.i y. *■-■.».■ .aw.r.'v:1M j *-%.* #. mi .-a ■,.^,.,-1.^,-,.-j- ■ ■ ■.■■awMw.vXaaKlt;*x\yAii:-!V: ?: ?■:■■vEyD ■:!v J»: .¥? 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A%-X .’- *V! .v- -v/^.*:cvrfj' ’v /•!*^ JM'#.- .;' V/V. ■./. ■ *.-.,. y X- . ,. *, *■ • '.V • » *m%■ #.WMM:* -x :L .-f’.i -5?^■i {-V ^ ---p ■■ '■'#; vlt;-:^B *v J ■■. _ Isaalt;-K1 _■ 1#mmryr.y.-X:- x-►VLV/'iVI * I.Avir^- - V ■r ' *- ' (v.V,■ i i ii ■ ■ jI.V»aVUl -fflj:m-A*yVVVf/s?.lt; ■■««»--1 I ■rfMaple-shaded Earthworks Are All That Remains of Fort BrewertonBy PAUL HORNAKIn 1967, John Caruso of North Utica embarked ona summer-long quest to visit every historically important fort in New York State. One of the forts on his“must-see” list had been Fort Brewerton, situated in the Village of Brewerton, about 15 miles north of Syracuse.When Caruso came looking for the fort, he hadtrouble finding it. A Brewerton service station attendant he queried hadn’t heard of it at all, even though it was clearly marked on Caruso’s State Thruway map.All the attendant .could think of was the Fort-Brewerton Hotel. Was that what Caruso meant?wBut that wasn’t what Caruso meant at all. With a%little more searching Caruso finally found Fort Brewerton. The grassy remains of the original eight-sidedearthworks, maple tree-dotted, with a flagpole in thecenter, were right next door to the Fort Brewerton Hotel.Caruso was disappointed at the acre of grass andthe flagpole. In fact, he was so disappointed that hewrote to the Thruway Authority demanding that the As a final act of interest in the fort and its envi-markings identifying the fort as a point of interest be rons, Milton willed money for publication of a bookabout the Brewerton area. Richard Palmer and Mrs.t+ IV ■ ■ .■ *■ • Cfi f,foot-high palisades that once topped the earthworksand replicas of the original blockhouses, complete where the Fort Brewerton Hotel stoold until a fire de“insolent” Indians. Sir William Johnson, the Britishsuperintendent of Indian affairs,who was known forhis sensitivity to Indian gripes, resolved the situationin conferences with Six Nations Indian chiefs.■' But the Indians’ ire did not diminish. After a s« ries of similar incidents, Johnson agreed to abandon the fort. The Indians, with the consent of the British, gleefully burned the fort to the ground in 1767.Historians acknowledge, however, that Fort Brewerton was a vital outpost of the British army. It stood amidst a network of Indian trials and alongside the Seneca River, which was part of a strategic waterAnother spot to be checked is the charred ground route that extended from Oswego to Rome.with1sts. ’suitable rest rooms for use of the many tour-Until his death, Milton served as honorary curator of the fort and the small museum associated with it.digs,removed from future Thruway maps.The Thruway Authority has complied.This incident may gratify certain tourists who, expecting stone breastworks and cannon a la Ticonder-goga, traveled to Fort Brewerton and shared Caruso’s That year, Mrs. Emma L. Frisbie of Camden warnedKatherine Barclay have co-authored the book, whichis still untitled.stroyed it last winter.Mrs. Maas thinks that the archaelogicaltogether with the publication of the Milton-financed*book on Brewerton, might revive state interest in the fort.She said that local merchants feel the fort could be an imprortant drawing card for tourists. She said that inquiries about the fort are still numerous, de-As early as 1900 there was concern about the fort, spite its forlorn condition.The Fort Brewerton MuseumLibrary Streetdissatisfaction with what they saw.in a letter to the Onondaga Historical Association that which survives on contributions and a small yearlyBut to the people who have worked voluntarily to- the impending sale of the site might mean destruction grant from the village, draws about 10 visitors dailyward making Fort Brewerton something more than of the earthworks.\grass and a flagpole, the story is one more item for their already-lengthy list of setbacks.The museum, open from 10 to 5 Wednesday throughSoon after, Assemblyman Thomas D. Lewis initi- Monday, houses the relics Ennis unearthed in his ’digs ated legislation in Albany which led to the puchase of at the fort, in addition to rotating exhibits on areaThe most recent of these setbacks came last spring, Fort Brewerton by the state as an historic reserva- historywhen the state legislature — for the second year in afailed to include in its budget maintenancerowfunds for the fort’s meager acre of land.As a result, the grass, once regularly trimmed bytion.But state monies for maintenance have now dwindled to nothing.Mrs. Maas is confident, though, that the fight forstate park crews, is now often neglected and the flag- improvement of the fort, which has been going on for Indian land they had not paid for, lootedAdmittedly, the fort has no battles or massacres to boast about Probably the most exciting event of thefort’s short life occurred in 1762, when a group of Indiangered about the presence of white soldiers onone of thepole sometimes flagless.Mrs. Edward Maas, secretary of the Brewertonnearly 75 years now, may soon begin to bear fruit.Using a $600 matching grant from the Council offort’s vegetable gardensLt, Hugh Wallace, commander of the garrison,Chamber of Commerce, said local people have tried the Arts, the Fort Brewerton Museum Association (of wrote his superiors for advice on how to handle thetheir best to keep the site neat. But she said that with- which Mrs. Maas is a trustee) will soon begin archaeo-out money for a caretaker, it is impossible to maintain logical digs at several locations around the fort.IPPPkv#the fort as the state once had.One of these locations is the front yard of the Wil-If they .could see the condition of the fort now, de- liam Ennis house on Swamp Road. Ennis is the ar-ceased Fort Brewerton enthusiasts who fought for its chaeologist who will do the excavations.improvement during the first half of this century would no doubt quiver with anger.During a previous dig, which inclined excavation of part of the fort’s remaining earthworks, EnnisJ. Elet Milton, who died in 1969, was the dean of unearthed belt buckles, tools, crockery and buttonsthe fort’s admirers. He predicted in 1929 that the fort believejd to have been used by the British soldiers whowould soon have cannon, a rebuilt section of the 20- manned the fort from 1759 to 1765.Indian arrowheads, beadwork and burial mounds are still discovered in the vicinity of this former crossroads.*Col. Barry S. Leger stopped at the fort site in 1776 while en route to the Mohawk Valley, where he was defeated by General Herkimer’s volunteers at the Battle of Oriskany.Today, the neglected fort awaits the fulfillment of the plans of two generations of devotees and, in the words of Mrs. Maas, delights scores of passers-by“who understand.”■*i
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Post Standard
Syracuse, New York, US
Mon, Aug 14, 1972
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Sarah K.
NA, 15 Sep 2021
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