Finding the Fort

A discovery made last October in Liberty County, Ga., promises to reveal new details about the state’s Revolutionary War heritage. Professional archaeologists, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employees and volunteers gathered at Fort Morris State Historic Site in hopes of finding the original site of Fort Morris. Crews were busy digging up artifacts that belonged to past inhabitants. The fort was active during the Revolutionary War but has a War of 1812 fortification covering it. Workers discovered the outer walls of the fort, built by Colonists around 1776.

Fort Morris was built to protect Colonists and their port city of Sunburyfrom British invasion. The fort is open to the public but has suffered from low attendance in recent years, leading the state to question whether it should remain open. Ed Reed, a regional supervisor for DNR parks and historic sites, says that discovering the fort’s original site could help it stay open. “It could lead to budget requests to reconstruct what was here 200 years ago,” Reed says. To learn more about Fort Morris State Historic Site, visit <www.fortmorris.org> or call (912) 884-5999.