Fort Lewis

Fort Lewis is a Virginia historical marker in Roanoke (County) County, dedicated 2018.

Rte. 11, 0.5 miles west of Salem city limits

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Archaeological evidence indicates that Native Americans lived in this area for more than 10,000 years. James Campbell, one of the first Europeans to settle here, began acquiring land in 1742. During the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the Virginia General Assembly authorized the construction of a line of forts to protect the frontier. Fort Lewis, named for Maj. Andrew Lewis, was built on Campbell’s property by 1757. The Virginia Regiment, led by Col. William Byrd III, used the fort as a staging ground for expeditions against the Cherokee in present-day Tennessee in 1760 and 1761. Campbell sold his land in 1760, and it became part of an estate known as Fort Lewis.

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

1746 · A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1807 · Map Of Virginia (lower center sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1847 · Virginia (H. S. Tanner, 1847) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1890 · Christiansburg, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering the location of Fort Lewis, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — A Map of the British Empire in America. (Sheet 10), 1746, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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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 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

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Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

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