Russell's Fort

Russell's Fort is a Virginia historical marker in Russell County, dedicated 2025.

Russell County · dedicated 2025 · Red Oak Ridge Road just north of intersection with Reeds Valley Road

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Conflict between Native Americans and settlers in the Ohio Country intensified early in the 1770s and reverberated in southwestern Virginia. In 1774, Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, recommended the construction of fortifications to protect settlements along the Clinch River. Russell’s Fort was immediately built near here. Capt. William Russell, later a Revolutionary War officer, commanded militia in the lower Clinch Valley and used this fort as his base. Russell County, formed in 1786, was named for him. During a series of Indian wars that concluded in the 1790s, the fort remained an important outpost and was attacked several times.

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Russell's Fort

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