Winchester, VA
Ten days ago I saw an announcement that the old well that’s associated with George Washington was open and could be seen for a brief time. I happened to be in Front Royal and decided to drive to Winchester to take a look.
I have been to the location before. The fort itself is gone but the well remains. It was built during the French and Indian War to supply the fort with water.
George Washington supervised the building of the fort between 1756 and 1758. This was long before he was president, and even before he became nationally famous during the American Revolution. We were still under British rule in 1756, and Washington served as an officer in the war against the French.
By the way, there are other forts named Fort Loudoun, so that can be confusing. This one was disassembled after the war ended, and the huge logs from the walls were reused in other buildings in Winchester. The well remained in use for over 200 years. Here we see a Union soldier at the well as sketched by James E. Taylor, Civil War artist.
Now the well is being restored. Workers have built a scaffold so they can stabilize the rock walls on the upper portion of the well. The lower portion is solid rock. When the well was built, black powder was used to blast through the rock.
Fort Loudoun was a large structure with four bastions, based on European designs. It did not see battle, but it was used at a supply point and staging area.
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