Fort Howard (Wisconsin)
File:Fort Howard from Fox River.jpg]]
{{CSS image crop
|Image = Tourist's Pocket Map Of Michigan (Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1835).jpg
|bSize = 1500
|cWidth = 375
|cHeight = 500
|oTop = 450
|oLeft = 120
|Location = right
|Description = Fort Howard on the 1835 Tourist's Pocket Map of Michigan among the "Mennomonie" villages of Wisconsin Territory
}}
{{coord|44|31|N|88|1|W|display=title|name=Fort Howard (closed 1853, location approximate)}}
Fort Howard was a 19th-century fortification in the north central United States, built by the U.S. Army. It was located along the west bank of the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin.[http://www.forttours.com/pages/fortedwardaugustus.asp Fort Edward August]
History
Along with Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, Fort Howard was constructed during the War of 1812 to protect the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, an important regional trade and travel route between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, from British invasion. The fort was built at the site of the earlier French Fort La Baye (and renamed Fort Edward Augustus by the British in 1761). The initial estimate of its building cost was $16,644.70. [https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2015/10/11/fort-howard/ (Military History of the Upper Great Lakes)] For a time it was commanded by Zachary Taylor.{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=William L. |title=The Military History of Green Bay |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t3rv0w869;view=1up;seq=16 |accessdate=21 December 2018}}
During an outbreak of malaria in 1820, the garrison moved to Camp Smith{{cite gnis|2351145|Camp Smith (Wisconsin)}} on higher ground nearby. Fort Howard was reoccupied two years later. Abandoned again in 1841, when the garrison was sent to Florida during the Seminole Wars, the fort was officially decommissioned in 1853.
In 1863, the United States government granted land to the States of Michigan and Wisconsin for construction of a military road between Fort Howard and Fort Wilikins near Copper Harbor, Michigan. This road was completed in 1872.{{cite web |last1=Ashley|first1=Alex |title=The Military Road|url=https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2016/10/17/the-military-road/ |accessdate=6 November 2022}}
Following the fort's closure its buildings fell into decay. Several structures were subsequently removed to the Camp Smith site, where they are now part of the Heritage Hill State Historical Park. Three of the fort's remaining structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the hospital, hospital ward, and officers' quarters.
Later use of name
In the 20th century, the Fort Howard Paper Company was a pulp and paper manufacturer based in Green Bay, founded by Austin E. Cofrin in 1919. It merged with James River in 1997 to form Fort James Corporation and became part of Georgia-Pacific in 2000.
Images
File:Fort Howard Company Kitchen and Orderly Room Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg|Kitchen
File:Fort Howard Hospital Restorations June 2014.jpg|Hospital during 2014 restoration
File:FortHowardOfficersQuartersDiningArea.jpg|Dining area in Officers' Quarters
File:Fort Howard Officers Quarters June 2014 at Heritage Hill State Historic Park.jpg|Side of Officers' Quarters
File:FortHowardPanoramaSoutheast.jpg|Looking southeast at courtyard
File:FortHowardYardPanoramaNorthwest.jpg|Looking northwest across courtyard
File:Fort Howard Post School June 2014 Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg|School
File:FortHowardHospitalWardHeritageHill.jpg|Ward
File:Guard House from Fort Howard during 2014 construction at Heritage Hill State Historical Park.jpg|Guard house during 2014 reconstruction
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.heritagehillgb.org/ Heritage Hill State Historical Park]
- [http://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/103973893.html/ History buffs launch search for Fort Howard's footprint]
{{Zachary Taylor|state=collapsed}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Brown County, Wisconsin
Category:1816 establishments in Illinois Territory
Category:Pre-statehood history of Wisconsin