Defiance in Defiance County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Fort Winchester

Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail

— Wayne-Harrison-Winchester-Clay-Bird Marches —

Fort Winchester Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Dale K. Benington, May 3, 2009

1. Fort Winchester Marker

Inscription. Ohio
Revolutionary
Memorial
Trail
Wayne • Harrison
Winchester • Clay
Bird
1780 • Marches • 1813
— • —
Fort
Win-
chester
————>

Erected 1930 by Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission. (Marker Number A96.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • Native Americans • War of 1812 • Wars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1780.

Location. 41° 17.231′ N, 84° 21.435′ W. Marker is in Defiance, Ohio, in Defiance County. Marker is at the intersection of Fort Street and Washington Avenue, on the right when traveling west on Fort Street. This historical marker is located just southeast of the site of Fort Defiance, at the juncture of the Auglaize River with the Maumee River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Defiance OH 43512, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Reinforcement Work (here, next to this marker); Frontier Fort 1794-1796 (here, next to this marker); Anthony Wayne's Fort Defiance (here, next to

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this marker); Location Of The Bake Oven (here, next to this marker); South Blockhouse (here, next to this marker); Fort Defiance (a few steps from this marker); Flood Poles (within shouting distance of this marker); East Blockhouse (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Defiance.

More about this marker. This historical marker is part of the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail series (type A) which was put in place in 1930 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Ohio's Revolutionary War era Battle of Piqua, by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission.

In order to accomplish this, in 1929 the state of Ohio created the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission, and then in 1930 this commission created 22 military trails, throughout western Ohio, between Cincinnati, Ohio on the state's southern border and Toledo, Ohio on the state's northern border. Each of these military trails represented the routes, or trails, used by military leaders during either the Revolutionary War, the Indian Wars, or the War of 1812. Each of these military routes connected various related historical

Photographed By Dale K. Benington, May 3, 2009

2. Fort Winchester Marker

View of historic marker (at the corner of Fort St. and Washington Ave.) and its close positioning to the Fort Defiance historical site.

sites, that were marked with Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission (type C) markers, along each of the military trails.

The routes of these military trails were in turn marked by type A and type B Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission markers that served as directional (type B) and distance (type A) markers. This particular marker is one of the type A markers of the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail series.

Originally, back in 1930, according to the ORMC 1931 Planning Report, there were erected 168 some of these Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission, type A, markers. To date, I know of only 3 of these type A markers that have been located and posted on the Historical Marker database (markers A95, A96, and A1340). A large number of them are presently missing, but this particular marker is one of the few remaining type A, Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission markers.

Regarding Fort Winchester. Althought the main focus of this historical marker is to point the way to a War of 1812 American military fortification named Fort Winchester, located two blocks south on Washington Avenue, this marker spans events preceding the War of 1812.

As part of the "Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail" system, this historical marker indicates that several significant military leaders and their followers, from our historic past,

Fort Winchester Marker image. Click for more information.

Photographed By Dale K. Benington, May 3, 2009

3. Fort Winchester Marker

View of historical marker that marks the actual site of Fort Winchester (some two blocks away, south on Washington Ave.).
Click for more information.

had passed through this very area while engaged in one of their military campaigns. In 1780, Bird led a combined Native-American and British irregular outfit in a raid against American settlements in neighboring Kentucky, during the Revolutionary War. Wayne led an American army against the Native-Americans living in the Maumee Valley during the Indian Wars of 1790-1795. And Harrison, Winchester, and Clay all led American forces through this area during the War of 1812.

Also see . . . Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail System. A description of the Revolutionary Memorial Trail System developed by the state of Ohio in 1929 - 1930. (Submitted on June 9, 2010, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio.)

Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail Map image. Click for full size.

Image courtesy of the MidPointe Library System (www.MidPointeLibrary.org)

4. Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail Map

A view of an original Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Trail Map, from 1930. For a better view double click on this picture.

Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission Marker Types image. Click for full size.

Image provided by Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission publication, dated 1931.

5. Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission Marker Types

View of the three types of markers used by the Ohio Revolutionary Memorial Commission. The marker on the left is a type A marker (just like our featured marker), the marker in the middle is a type C, and the marker on the right is a type B. For a better view double click on this picture.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 28, 2019. It was originally submitted on May 6, 2009, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,875 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 6, 2009, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 4. submitted on June 24, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. 5. submitted on June 26, 2019, by Dale K. Benington of Toledo, Ohio. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.