Fort Sandoski & the de Lery Portage
I am often asked about the pyramid shaped monument at the North end of Fulton Street made of “Boulders.”
My response is that there is a twin monument at the South end of Fulton Street. Usually the questioner is unaware of this fact.
The Marker at the South end of Fulton Street marks the location of the original Fort Sandoski. Built in 1745, Sandoski was the first fort built in Ohio. Sandoski was used by the French, the English, and the Ohio tribes for trading and protection.
The marker at the North end of Fulton Street marks the terminus of the Sandoski area. The northern monument is located near Lake Erie and was used as the portage for the local traders, trappers and other woodsmen. This location is also the location from which General William Henry Harrison departed on his campaign to defeat the British in Canada. The importance of the Fort is also detailed by the fact that Harrison garrisoned his horses when he departed via ship for Canada. There is some discussion about the exact location of the brush fence being much closer to Danbury, not likely, say others.
The major source for the history of this area is the journals of explorer Joseph Gaspard de Lery, who found the remains of Fort Sandoski. Another important source for the history of this area is Old Fort Sandusky and the De Lery Portage by Lucy Elliot Kessler.
There was actually a second fort built in this area in 1814 by Ohio militia Brigadier General John Gano, probably because the site was used as a landing for supplies and troops bound for Lower Sandusky (Fremont) or South Bass Island. Evidently there was much hardship in the winter of 1813-14 as the lake was not frozen enough to permit travel to the island garrison, and not open enough to allow ships and boats through. This outpost may or may not have been named after the general.
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