crickets fart State Park is a wonderful historical resource to the state of West Virginia it not only
shows how life was like for English settlers on the west virginian frontier in the 1700s it also
provides wonderful and ample opportunities for fun-filled outdoor family recreation and even
cultural entertainment join me today on the ancestral findings podcast and I'll give you
what you need to know to enjoy your visit to this beautiful and important historical park
a lovely spot for a fun-filled family vacation or day out together pricketts fort State Park
comprises 188 acres of land in beautiful West Virginia just north of Fairmont where pricketts
Creek and the Monongahela River converge the central focal point of the park is the
reconstructed fort but there is so much more to the park than this including a rich history
pricketts fort was built around 1774 with the purpose of defending the new British settlers
from raids by local Native American tribes at the time most of the local tribes were hostile to the
new settlers as those settlers appropriated parts of their historic territory this appropriation
was accomplished with the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 things were quiet for a time on the new
West Virginian frontier but in 1774 Daniel great house led a group of settlers in a massacre of
local Native Americans in what was known as the Yellow Creek Massacre and it was the beginning
battle of what became Lord Dunmore's war all of the settlers in the area became at increased risk
for Native American ratings after that all of the settlers in the area became at increased risk for
Native American writing after that regardless of whether they had taken part in the massacre
or the war or not the settlers built a number of protective forts at this time where they could
gather in large numbers so as to be better able to protect themselves from the natives one of these
forts was built on Jacob pricketts homestead it was relatively simple in design being merely a
log barricade of 100 feet that was built around pricketts house however it served its purpose as
the local Native Americans preferred to raid small groups of people working in the fields or woods
rather than those fortified and well-manned structures if a native raid was suspected
neighbors gathered at the nearest fort something they called fording up pricketts fort was able to
house up to 80 families which comprised several hundred people during these times sometimes the
gathered families stayed for days or even weeks at a time however pricketts fort was never the
object of a Native American raid local militia men from the area a pricketts fort were killed
by natives farther away from the fort at times though cricket's fort disappears from a historical
records after 1780 when things seemed to settle down on the West Virginian frontier the Sons of
the American Revolution dedicated a monument to the settlers who built the fort in 1916 the site
of the original fort was rescued from potential parking lot destruction from the Department of
National Resources in 1973 when the Marion County Historical Society formed the pricketts fort
Memorial Foundation and said they were going to reconstruct the fort there the original
fort was suspected to have been destroyed by the construction of a railroad bridge in 1905 the site
of the original fort was also rendered unusable by this construction so the new foundation decided to
reconstruct the fort on a hill that overlooks the river a number of old buildings from the
area that were no longer usable or restorable were donated to the project with their lumber
being used to build the new fort the fort itself was built using a description by a Steven Morgan
who was a grandson of an early settler of the area Morgan's account later proved to be an inaccurate
one resulting in the construction of a fort that was much more elaborate than the original one
however it is assumed that most of the features of the reconstructed fort could have been found
on any of the protective forts in the area at the time the original fort was constructed the
reconstructed fort is a building that is 110 feet square with block houses of two stories
at each corner and 14 smaller cabins lining the inside of the fortification walls there is also
a meeting house and a storehouse within the walls in addition to the fort construction the
park includes a research library a gift shop and a gallery where one can view an orientation exhibit
an introductory video third-person presentations are given at the fort on such topics as 1700s
blacksmithing carpentry and spinning wool into yarn there is also the Joe briquette house on
the property which is an 1800s era farmhouse built by Jacob pricketts grandson this house
has many original Prickett family furniture and tools in it and it is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places at the park one can enjoy picnic areas nature trails a boat lunch
and even a 400-seat outdoor amphitheater the amphitheater is used by the drama department
at Fairmont State University to produce musicals and dramatic plays in the summers to the delight
of park visitors the park is a day use park with daily admittance required to enjoy the facilities
all historical reenactments and special events at the park are managed by the pricketts fort
Memorial Foundation which has a long-term contract with the state to perform these tasks the gift
shop orientation area and administrative offices are open each day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until
Labor Day when they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays after October 28th they are also closed
on weekends until the visiting season begins again in April the visiting season at the park begins on
April 22nd and goes until October 27th each year the park is open Monday through Saturday from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. during the visiting season and on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. the park may
be open at additional hours during the visiting season if special events are being held there
admission to the park is $8 for adults $6 for seniors age 60 and above $4 for children ages
6 to 12 and free for children age 5 and under members of the park are also admitted for free
if you have a Scandinavian surname or have one or more of them in your family tree you will
be interested in knowing the history of these surnames as they tell an interesting part of the
story of your ancestors join me the next time and I'll talk about the origins and meanings of the
most common surnames in Norway Denmark and Sweden thanks for joining me today I'll see you next time
on the ancestral findings podcast and for further info you can visit us at ancestral findings com