Fort Plain Museum & Historical Park

Sometimes confused by historians with Fort Plain, Fort Plank was the palisaded home and blockhouse of Frederick Plank and his stepson Captain Joseph House. The fort was erected in the spring of 1778 by several neighborhood families and refugees from the Chyle settlement. It was the largest fortification in the area. For a brief period in 1779, because it was located on a main route to Springfield at the head of Otsego lake, Fort Plank became an important staging area for General James Clinton’s brigade on the way to meet General Sullivan in the Susquehanna River Valley. Colonel Frederick Weisenfel’s Fourth New York Regiment was stationed there for several months. After 1779 the post was used primarily as a neighborhood refuge and garrisoned by local militiamen.

Fort Plank was located on Paris Road in the Town of Minden where it was afforded an excellent view of the Cherry Valley hills. Joeseph Brant's raids on the settlements south of the valley and, especially the highly publicized Cherry Valley Massacre, were a major concern for valley residents. Fort Plank's location made it possible to monitor the southern approaches for trouble.