Fort Trial

Fort Trial is a Virginia historical marker in Henry County, dedicated 2000.

Rte. 220, just north of Bypass Rte. 220, north of Martinsville

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Fort Trial, constructed in 1756, once stood nearby overlooking the Smith River. It was one in a series of forts authorized by the General Assembly to be built on the frontier to protect settlers from Indians during the French and Indian War. The square fort was made of twenty-foot split timbers erected close together. Four feet of timber were buried in the earth and the walls were about sixteen feet high. George Washington visited Fort Trial in 1756. It was abandoned near the end of the eighteenth century when hostilities between colonists and Indians had subsided.

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

1755 · (Canada, Louisiane et Terres Angloises. Southeast section) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · North-Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1807 · Map Of Virginia (lower center sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1823 · North Carolina (Lucas, 1823) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1847 · Virginia (H. S. Tanner, 1847) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

(Canada, Louisiane et Terres Angloises. Southeast section), 1755, covering the location of Fort Trial, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — (Canada, Louisiane et Terres Angloises. Southeast section), 1755, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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Fort Trial

Historical maps covering this location

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