- Ohio History in 2000 Words
- Mound Builders
- Native Ohioans
- The Ohio Company
- Ohio's Wood Forts
- Indian Wars
- War of 1812
- Ohio's Canals
- Ohio's Road
- Scenic Railroads / Museums
- Underground Railroad
- Civil War in Ohio
Today a marker stands along the northern shore of Sandusky Bay. It marks the approximate location of Fort Sandoski. It is believed the actual site is further south about 50 yards out into the bay. Increased water levels and shoreline erosion, have pushed back the shore line compared to what it was in the mid 1700s.
The name Sandoski is the French interpretation of the Wyandot phrase "San Too Chee," meaning "at the cold water." The cold water is the result of a number of streams emptying into the bay from underground aquifers that continually pour out millions of gallons of water that is consistently 40 degrees winter or summer.
The French term Sandoski became the English term Sandusky when the French gave up any interest in the Northwest Territory after the French and Indian War which ended in 1763.
Fort Sandoski first served the French, was partially destroyed and occupied by Wyandots and then later the British occupied the site for a short time. This location was an important point in Native American and European exploration of the area. Here was a natural overland portage trail between Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie, just 2 miles north of this location. It was a portage that had been used for countless generations before. Carrying a heavy canoe or dragging a much larger boat two miles overland, may not seem much of a convenience, but when compared with the effort and time it would take to paddle across large open waters and round the extremely dangerous Marblehead Point that could easily destroy any boat during a sudden storm.
Some of the early French explorers arrived here after having navigated by canoe along the southern Lake Erie shore from Niagara Falls. There intent was to navigate down the Sandusky - Scioto river/trail to the Ohio and from there down to the Mississippi River and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico.
Built by the French in 1745 - 1751, it was the only fortification built in the Ohio Country by non-English speaking people. It mostly consisted of a palisade and several cabins. The site was located at the north western end of Sandusky Bay at a place where there were no marshes along the shore. This location provided a beacon of sorts not only for the French, but later English explorers and expeditions where they could portage across the Marblehead Peninsula to Lake Erie. The Sandusky River could then be navigated north or south to another point where there was another portage to the Scioto River. It would become in years to come, a pivotal historical point.
The first fortification, which was nothing more than a hastily constructed cabin that identified the portage spot for the French when they came back exploring the Sandusky, Scioto and Ohio Rivers in the mid 1700s. In the mid 1760s the British may also have built or occupied the existing fortification here as well. Some maps show this site as being a Wyandot village
Many years later in 1813, this site would be used by General William Henry Harrison as a rallying point for his men having recently repulsed a British invasion first on the Maumee River, and then on the Sandusky River at Fort Stephenson (where Fremont is located today). Harrison's men marched and rode along the old Sandusky-Scioto Trail while his supplies were transported by boat down the river to this point. From here their boats were dragged across the two mile path to the lake, and his men built a large corral to keep the horses secured with just a few guards. Once the horses were secured and the boats carted across the peninsula, he and his men boarded the Commodore Perry's small fleet of ships, having just brought about a major defeat of a British Naval force off South Bass Island.
Once Harrison's men were on board, the Perry's fleet departed from here to Fort Detroit where they once again engaged the British, and a large contingent of Native Americans being led by Tecumseh. In that battle, the British were defeated, and Tecumseh was killed, which for once brought a permanent peace to northwest Ohio and an end to Native American attacks here.
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