Evidence suggests that General Wayne may have built a structure on this site shortly after the Treaty of Greene Ville. In 1796, a letter from Secretary of State Thomas Pickering to the Committee of Military Establishments recommended a series of forts along the river systems of the western basin of Lake Erie for protection from the British and their American Indian allies. When completed, the chain of forts along the Auglaize River included Fort Amanda, Fort Jennings, and Fort Brown, all built 15-20 miles apart, a typical day's journey by foot. Fort Barbee in St. Marys, Ohio, was built on the St. Marys River to accommodate shipments of materials to Fort Wayne in Indiana, and a thirteen mile trail from Fort Barbee to Fort Amanda linked the two rivers. In 1812, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Pogue of the Kentucky militia either enlarged or replaced Wayne's structure with one he named for his daughter, Amanda. Strategically placed to take advantage of the protection afforded by the steep riverbank and deep ravine adjacent to the site, it was a perfect debarkation site for soldiers and supplies being shipped downriver.