Constructed nearby about 1756 as a wooden palisaded fort, Fort Young, originally known as Dickinson’s Fort, stood near the Jackson River. It was one in a series of forts authorized by the Virginia General Assembly to be built on the frontier to protect English settlers during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Col. George Washington likely inspected this fort during his frontier tour in 1756. The fort was an important post and probably garrisoned until at least the close of the American Revolution. Fort Young had disappeared by the middle of the 19th century.