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Fort Boreman was a Civil War fort. Originally called Fort Logan, the Union garrison overlooked the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers at Parkersburg. When West Virginia became a state, June 20, 1863, the fort was renamed for Arthur I. Boreman, the new governor and a citizen of Parkersburg.

Construction of the fort began in early 1863 to protect the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad terminal and the river facilities at Parkersburg. Built of logs placed two high and two abreast, one contemporary drawing shows the fort as triangular while another represents it as five-sided. A system of trenches partly encircled the fort. Though its cannon were never fired in battle, Fort Boreman and its troops probably deterred attacks from the rebel forces that operated in the area, especially in southern Wood County. Associated with Fort Boreman is the ‘‘hanging tree,’’ from which three men were hanged in 1866.

Following the war, the fort site became a favorite overlook and picnic area. Eventually it was forgotten, as the trenches filled in and brush engulfed the former military post. In 1997, the plight of this important local history site was brought before the Wood County Commission by local historians asking for support in creating a park there. Fort Boreman Historical Park opened in 2006. The Fort Boreman site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Read the National Register nomination.

This Article was written by Bob Enoch

Last Revised on November 30, 2023

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Cite This Article

Enoch, Bob "Fort Boreman." e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 30 November 2023. Web. 29 April 2024.