Fort Allen

Fort Allen was a structure, built in 1774 in Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, for protection from Indian attacks.

Roughly 800 pioneer settlers in Hempfield, a large number of them German, had petitioned the state for aid and protection from Indian attacks. In response to that, Fort Allen was built. It is believed that Fort Allen was named for Andrew Allen of the state's then governing body, the Supreme Executive Council. The fort was commanded by Col. Christopher Truby (in one source, spelled "Trubee"). Fort Allen was a frontier fort for Dunmore's War in 1774 and the American Revolutionary War. It was also known as Truby's Blockhouse. It was never involved in an emergency.

There is a stone monument honoring Fort Allen. The monument was erected on May 1, 1929. It is located on the grounds of St. John's Harrold United Church of Christ, which is 150 yards north of where the fort was located . The monument and church are located at the corner of St. John's Church Road and Baltzer Meyer Pike. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a roadside marker on December 12, 1946. It is located at the intersection of Route 136 and Baltzer Meyer Pike. The roadside marker says, "Frontier post built by Pennsylvania German pioneers of the Harrold's and Brush Creek settlements in 1774. It was a refuge from Indians in Dunmore's War and the American Revolution. The site was a little to the south."

Fort Allen Elementary School, which is located in the Hempfield Area School District, built in 1952, was named after the fort.

References

• http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_321660.html
• http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMN31
• http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/DOH/countyresults.asp?county=Westmoreland
• http://books.google.com/books?id=YfwTAAAAYAAJ (page 259)