Manuscript Group 293
FORT AUGUSTA COLLECTION
1765-1854 & undated
.1 cubic foot

Fort Augusta was constructed in 1756 at the fork of the Susquehanna River near the edge of present-day Sunbury in Northumberland County. Staffed by more than 300 soldiers under the command of Major James Burd, it served as an important link in Pennsylvania's frontier defenses during the French and Indian War and housed a large powder magazine from 1757. The fort was briefly reactivated in 1763 when Pontiac's rebellion again threatened Pennsylvania's frontier settlements. After the fort was abandoned, Colonel Samuel Hunter occupied the Colonel's Quarters as a residence until 1784.

Not directly related to the activities of the fort, the present collection from the Fort Augusta historic site consists primarily of land patents, deeds, surveys, mortgages, and releases for property located in Northumberland County and were donated through Bruce Bazelon, formerly registrar of The State Museum of Pennsylvania. Included are a Land Patent from John Penn to John and Patrick Ewing, 1789; a Bond for Frederick Tayler to execute a deed in 1796; and numerous releases, surveys; and mortgages for Jacob Kehr ranging in date from 1796 through 1822. Among the surveys is one for the 266 acre tract owned by Frederick Taylor in 1796. Also found are miscellaneous undated letters probably written during the 1830s and a photocopy of an Indian Trading License granted to Arthur Auchmutz on June 20, 1765 by John Penn (the original is at Fort Augusta).

• General Files, 1765-1854, undated. (1 box) {#293m.1}

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