Blue Mountain Forts

Blue Mountain Forts is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Lebanon County, dedicated 1949.

Jonestown Rd. (old US 22), near intersection with PA 934, at Harper Tavern

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

In 1763-64, from a line of six loghouse stations to the north, settlers were defended by the Paxton Rangers "“ volunteers paid by Pennsylvania's Provincial government. Fort Hunter was on the Susquehanna just north of Blue Mountain, and the other five stations were just south of the mountain "“ located at regular intervals over the 23 miles between the river and the Swatara Creek. A similar line of stations had existed, 1756-57.

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.

Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Historical maps covering this location

1755 · North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1758 · A new and accurate map of the English empire in North America (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1780 · A new and accurate map of the province of Pennsylvania in North America, from the best… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1782 · Carte de la Pensylvanie et du Nouveau Jersey (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1792 · A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering the location of Blue Mountain Forts, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering this location. Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

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

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

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 differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

More markers nearby

Lindley Murrayunder 1 mi
"Indiantown"under 1 mi
Indiantown Gap Military Reservationunder 1 mi
Indiantown Gap Military Reservationunder 1 mi