A national historic landmark, Fort Scammon is an earthen battlement raised in 1863 by members of the the U.S. 23rd Ohio Regiment ostensibly to guard the Kanawha Valley and its saltworks against Rebel uprisings or attacks. The fort is located at the top of present-day Fort Hill on Fort Circle Drive south of the Kanawha River in Charleston, West Virginia, in Kanawha County.
Its walls were built under the direction of regimental commander Colonel Eliakim P. Scammons likely as a means to occupy troops stationed at the foot of the hill near the mouth of Ferry Branch.
Artillery was placed in the fort and a powder magazine was located there, but no action took place there during Union control. In the late summer in 1862, Confederates had been active in the area, but the threat of war had since passed, according to historian Stan Cohen. The site remained vacant and little tended until 1977 when the City of Charleston acquired the property and designated it a city park.
Map showing location of Fort Scammon
Fort Hill Circle
Charleston, West Virginia
Fort Scammon External Links
Read Also: Fort Scammon, an ideal spot for an afternoon outing
Visiting old Fort Scammon, Charleston, W.Va.
Editor David Sibray visits old Fort Scammon site on Fort Hill in Charleston, W.Va.
