Forty Fort

History

In 1770, forty settlers from Westmoreland County, Connecticut, established a fort along the Susquehanna River in the area now known as Forty Fort Borough. Before the American Revolutionary War, both Connecticut and Pennsylvania claimed this territory, as Connecticut laid claim to a wide swath of land to its west based on its colonial charter. These competing claims triggered the Pennamite–Yankee Wars but were resolved after the Revolutionary War when the federal government awarded the contested territory to Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War, a force of Loyalist soldiers and Haudenosaunee warriors arrived in the Wyoming Valley on June 30, 1778. On July 1, Fort Wintermoot and Fort Jenkins surrendered. Demands for Forty Fort to surrender were rebuked. On July 3, roughly 300 Patriot militia and 60 Continentals under the command of Colonel Zebulon Butler sallied from Forty Fort. In the ensuing Battle of Wyoming, commonly known as the Wyoming Massacre, about 300 Americans were killed. The next morning, July 4, Colonel Nathan Denison agreed to surrender Forty Fort and two smaller forts, along with what remained of the militia. The Loyalist commander paroled them on their promise to take no part in further hostilities. None of the inhabitants were injured after the surrender, although some had their personal effects plundered. In 1900, a large stone was placed at the end of Fort Street, in Forty Fort Borough, by the Daughters of the American Revolution to mark the approximate location of Forty Fort. In the years following the Revolutionary War, Forty Fort became home to both the Nathan Denison House (built around 1790) and the Forty Fort Meetinghouse (built in 1806–08), which is located in the borough's cemetery. Forty Fort was officially incorporated as a borough…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and of it, or 16.58%, is water. Forty Fort hugs the western bank of the Susquehanna River just north of Wilkes-Barre. Its neighbors are Wyoming (to the north), Plains Township (to the east), Kingston (to the south), and Swoyersville (to the west). Forty Fort is built on a floodplain and is protected by a levee system. In the 1972 flood, the levee broke and the neighboring Susquehanna River flooded much of the town. During the 2011 flood, the levee system was once again put to the test. However, this time it held, and the borough was preserved.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Wilkes-Barre Area HS
  High · Plains · 2,293 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Crestwood Secondary Campus
  High · Mountain Top · 1,419 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Wyoming Valley West SHS
  High · Plymouth · 1,357 students · 16:1 ratio
• State El Ctr
  Elementary · Larksville · 1,353 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Wyoming Valley West MS
  Middle · Kingston · 1,191 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• G A R MS
  Middle · Wilkes-Barre · 1,026 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Pittston Area SHS
  High · Pittston · 1,022 students · 19.3:1 ratio
• Pittston Area MS
  Middle · Pittston · 964 students · 17.9:1 ratio