Historic Fort Steuben is center of community

STEUBENVILLE - From light-up night to celebrate the Christmas season to monthly programs and weekly community concerts, the Historic Fort Steuben has transformed a one-block area into the year-round center of the city.

Improvements to the fort started early in 2009 with a renovation of the museum shop in the visitors center.

"New shelving and displays make it easier for visitors to browse the books and pick out unique gifts," said Judy Bratten, director of the Historic Fort Steuben. "We carry the well-researched Dover history coloring books as well as books on the history of the area. You can find the usual souvenir post cards and magnets as well as some wonderful prints and maps. The youngsters like our old-fashioned wooden toys and puzzles, too."

Work on the reconstructed fort will continue in 2010, with replacement of the pickets on the Ohio River side.

"While replacing the pickets, which are deteriorating at the base, we have had the guardhouse constructed on the eastern wall so visitors can look out across the Ohio River and then turn and look into Steubenville," Bratten said.

"The two different maps we have of the fort indicate that there was a guardhouse. We are not sure if there was one structure or two towers. But we put up a structure that would allow visitors to climb up and have a great view of the river."

Bratten said 2009 saw the merger of the First Federal Land Office with the Old Fort Steuben Project Inc.

"We have always worked closely with the trustees of the land office and by merging our resources we will be able to better maintain the building and its contents," Bratten noted.

"The land office trustees joined our board and are actively involved in our programs. We have already removed some of the original documents to have them put in archival quality framing which will preserve them for many years," remarked Bratten.

"Historic Fort Steuben is committed to providing high quality educational, historical and cultural programs to the community,"declared Bratten.

"Especially now, with everyone watching their budgets, we want to give people a variety of activities right here in their neighborhood. Our usual annual events include Black History Month, Ohio Valley Frontier Days, Summer Concert Series and Celebrate the Constitution and in April we had an exhibit to commemorate the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln," she said.

Bratten said a membership drive and fundraising campaign are ongoing to provide the funding for the various events presented at Historic Fort Steuben.

"To volunteer, become a member, or schedule a tour at the fort, call (740) 283-1787 or send an e-mail to info@oldfortsteuben.com," advised Bratten.

The fort is celebrating Black History Month this month with an emphasis on area artists, musicians and writers.

According to Bratten, "this year's exhibit and program is called 'Black History Month: All that jazz, and poetry, and art.'"

"We want to focus on the lesser known African-American artists who may not have been known outside of the Ohio Valley area. But they were very well known for the talent here in their hometowns in the valley. Many of these artists, musicians and writers may be gone now but there are still memories and examples of their work left. We hope to share those stories and work with the rest of the community," she added.

Bratten said school groups and civic organizations are invited to tour the free exhibit.

The visitors center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Information is available by calling (740) 283-1787.

"Part of South Third Street is temporarily closed during the construction of the new city building but visitors still have access to the visitors center parking lot on South Third Street," noted Bratten.

Ohio Valley Frontier Days at the Historic Fort Steuben is set for June 26-27.

"The Ohio Valley Frontier Days offers visitors an opportunity to learn about the fort's place in local and national history," said Bratten.

"And the festival will be featuring the soldier, Native American, surveyor, settler and crafter re-enactors demonstrating their skills from the Revolutionary War and post war era," Bratten said.

Admission to the festival is $3 for adults, $1 for youth ages 6-12 and free for children under age 6, said Bratten.

Bratten also encouraged visitors to stop at the First Federal Land Office located next to Historic Fort Steuben.

"The land office is a replica of a colonial-era home and will display local historical artifacts as well as a bell from the Jefferson County Courthouse. We stage our events together and provide a variety of activities," Bratten said.

The Louis and Sandra Berkman Amphitheater added a new dimension to the already popular Historic Fort Steuben Park.

The two months of weekly family concerts actually start with six months of planning by a special committee that determines the entertainment brought to the stage in June and July.

"We tell Rick and Deb Witkowski what kind of entertainment we want and they start talking to entertainers and lining them up for the summer concerts. We pick the theme for each week.

Once the concert schedule has been set, Jerry Barilla president of the fort's board of trustees, along with volunteer employees from Frank and Jerry's Appliance store stop at the visitors center every Thursday morning to prepare the amphitheater stage.

"We carry out the scaffolding and rails for the sound system, a tent for the sound system control board, trash containers, carpet for the stage and a container for ice and water for the entertainers," according to Barilla.

"The benches also have to be cleaned, the grass cut and the general preparation work completed," Barilla noted.

Bratten said volunteers are enlisted to help with parking.

"We have designated the fort parking lot for handicapped parking. We also have handicapped parking available behind the visitors center. And if an organization wants to bring special needs residents to a concert, all they have to do is call us in advance and we will make special seating arrangements," Bratten said.

Barilla acknowledged the weather also plays a part on Thursdays.

"We make weather-related decisions based on the conditions. If there is lightning we have to decide on a possible cancellation because of the electrical sound system," Barilla said.

"There is plenty of free parking in the downtown area for the concert series. We have seen a growing number of people from throughout the Ohio Valley come to our concerts, and I am know we will continue to see interest in these concerts," Barilla noted.

He and his volunteers also can be found performing routine maintenance work at the Veterans Fountain in the park and in the fort itself.

"I am in awe of the men who first came to this area and constructed a fort to protect the surveyors who were plotting the land now known as Ohio. I am in awe of those men who survived the wilderness and all its dangers and built the original Fort Steuben. It took those men just eight days to build a blockhouse," Barilla said.

"They had to use their own ingenuity in 1787 to build the tools they needed to construct the fort and cut wooden slates for the blockhouse roofs," Barilla added.

"You have to appreciate what those soldiers and surveyors went through to establish the Ohio country and to realize how much work it took to build this community and our country. And I admire very much the vision and ideas first expressed by Dick and Elizabeth King who pursued and successfully initiated the monumental task of building this fort again. This fort is an awesome feat of dedication and commitment," said Bratten.

"I look around this fort and know we have an obligation to preserve and to improve this fort as a legacy for future generations," noted Barilla.

According to Bratten the Fort Steuben Eastern Gateway Visitors Center along the Ohio River Scenic Byway in Ohio received the 2009 Scenic Byway Award for a Built Project during the National Scenic Byways 2009 Conference in Denver.

"Every year, the Fort Steuben Eastern Gateway Visitors Center welcomes hundreds of residents and travelers alike. An outstanding example of government and private partnership, the visitors center project is a strong model for sharing regional history and American heritage," said Bratten.

Another annual event at the Visitors Center is Constitution Days held in September.

"In 1787, 39 brave men signed a document that changed the course of history," explained Judy Bratten, director of Historic Fort Steuben. "The agonizing debates and often heated discussions that brought us the Constitution were indicative of the intellectual currents of the time. The ideas and ideals that have become engraved in our national character were first expressed in this amazing document."

"If you don't remember what you learned in your high school civics class, you can get a refresher by visiting the annual exhibit," added Bratten.

And by mid-November the Historic Fort Steuben Park is transformed into a winter wonderland that is culminated with light-up night featuring free refreshments, entertainment and a generous helping of the holiday spirit.

"We truly are known as the center of activities in the community. People will often say they will meet friends at the fort. I'm glad we have become the place known for its history and activities and are continuing to gain recognition," declared Bratten.