Burke Fort

Burke Fort is a Massachusetts historical marker in Bernardston, Franklin County, dedicated 1930.

Route 5, Bernardston · location approximate

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Six rods easterly stood Burke Fort the first and largest, and also the first building in Fall Town. Built in 1738/39 by John Burke it was six rods square and contained eight houses. Fifty persons took shelter here during the old French and Indian War.

1930 text, presented as a historical document.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1740 · 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of Massachusetts. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · State of Massachusetts. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1891 · Massachusetts. Atlas Plate No. 19. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1936 · Bernardston, Massachusetts (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering the location of Burke Fort, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali, 1740, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours and the location is approximate.

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For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyExpected here. This page shows the older published text, and some signs were recast later. Telling us still helps.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker data: Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission, 1930 (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)

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