Wallace's Fortified Mill: Reconstructing a Frontier Blockhouse along McGee Run

Speaker: Emily Briggs. In the unsettled decades surrounding the American Revolution, many families on the southwestern Pennsylvania frontier fortified their homes, mills, and outbuildings against raids and reprisals. One such site, known locally as Fort Wallace, was a blockhouse and fortified gristmill built by settler Richard Wallace in what is now Derry Township, about 1 mile south of present-day Blairsville. Perched along McGee Run, Wallace’s mill became a refuge for local families during periods of intense regional violence, including conflicts with British-allied Native groups and Loyalist “Tories.” Though never garrisoned or formally commissioned, the mill-fort’s strategic location and defensive adaptations made it a crucial hub for survival and settlement. This presentation builds upon the unpublished research of the late Oliver “Olie” Merlin, a local historian whose detailed accounts of Fort Wallace—preserved by the Derry Area Historical Society—help reconstruct its likely location and significance. Combining Merlin’s narrative with 19th-century newspaper accounts, topographic analysis, and military histories, this project aims to reestablish Fort Wallace in both local memory and the historical landscape. With permission to access private property containing the ruins of Wallace’s Mill, the project may also lay groundwork for future archaeological survey, geophysical testing, and public interpretation. Location: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Room McElhaney Hall G-2