Fort of Detroit

Fort Détroit
Detroit, Michigan
1763 siege of Fort Detroit
Type	Fort
Site information
Controlled by	New France  Great Britain  United States
Site history
Built	1701
In use	1701–1796

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit was a fort established on the west bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The site of the former fort, north of the Rouge River, is now within the city of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan, an area bounded by Larned Street, Griswold Street, and the Civic Center (now occupied by office towers). In the 18th century, French colonial settlements developed on both sides of the river, based on the fur trade, missions and farms.

The fort was taken over by the British after the French surrendered Montreal in 1760 during the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years War). They held it until during the American Revolutionary War, and it was taken over by the United States afterward, being superseded by Fort Lenourt, built to the north along the river in 1779. This was later renamed as Fort Shelby and was abandoned by the US military in the 1820s. The city of Detroit demolished the fort in 1827.

Cadillac ordered Fort Detroit built on the west side of the Detroit River in an effort to prevent British colonists from moving into the west, and to monopolize the fur trade in central North America. Before he built Fort Detroit, Cadillac was commandant of Fort de Buade, another French outpost in North America. Fort de Buade was abandoned in 1697 due to conflicts with religious leaders over the trading of alcohol to the Native Americans. Cadillac persuaded his superiors to let him build a new settlement. He reached the Detroit River on July 23, 1701.

When he landed at the site, Cadillac held a celebration to formally take control of the area. In honor of Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain (or his son, Jérôme), Minister of Marine to Louis XIV, Cadillac named the new settlement as Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit. The storehouse and the stockade were started immediately, but the first building completed was Ste. Anne's Catholic Church. The stockade was the second structure completed, and was made of logs with defensive bastions or towers in each corner.