Fort Western, built in 1754 on the Kennebec River at Augusta, Maine, began as a fortified British trading post created by the Kennebec Proprietors to encourage settlement and strengthen imperial control during the French and Indian War. Its elevated palisaded enclosure protected stores and warehouses, and its surviving main house is the oldest wooden fort building still standing in America. Though never attacked, it played a notable role in frontier history, especially in 1775 when Benedict Arnold’s Quebec expedition stopped there to repair boats, gather supplies, and begin its wilderness march. Restored in the twentieth century, it is preserved today as a museum and major colonial-era historic site.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain