First fort (Lower Manhattan) The first Fort George was built in 1626 in the Dutch colony of
New Amsterdam and named
Fort Amsterdam. The
British Army renamed it Fort James in 1664. It was briefly reoccupied by the
Dutch from 1673 to 1674 as Fort Willem Hendrick. The British renamed it Fort William Henry in 1691, Fort Anne or Queen's Fort in 1703, and finally Fort George in 1714. The north side bastions and ramparts were destroyed in the
American Revolutionary War in 1776 by the Americans and finally demolished in 1790. The site is now the location of the
Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in
Lower Manhattan.
Second fort (Oswego, NY) A second Fort George was built by the
British in 1755 at
Oswego, New York, but it was destroyed by the French commander
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in 1756. The site is now Montcalm Park, bordered by West Schulyer Street, Montcalm Street and West 6th Street.
Third fort (Lake George, NY) A third Fort George was built in
Lake George, New York, in 1755. It was destroyed in 1777 and abandoned in 1780. It was located southeast of
Fort William Henry facing Lake George, in the wooded area within
Lake George Battlefield Park. The hill, overlooking the harbor, was the location on Duxbury's Point or Ducksberry Point and was fortified by the British during the
American Revolutionary War.
Hessian troops, who were contracted by the British, were stationed near the Jersey Street brook (or Hessian Springs).
Fifth fort (Upper Manhattan) The last Fort George was built in 1776 in
New York City on Fort George Hill, near the current intersection of
Audubon Avenue and
West 192nd Street in
Upper Manhattan. It was briefly named Fort Clinton and finally Fort George. ==Present-day Fort George neighborhood==