One of the nation’s few 18th-century arsenals, Point of Fork was established at this strategic point in Fluvanna County during the American Revolution. It was raided on June 5, 1781, by Col. John Graves Simcoe, commander of the British Queen’s Rangers, in a move coinciding with Col. Banastre Tarleton’s raid on the Virginia legislature at Charlottesville. Simcoe’s men destroyed the buildings and burned the supplies, leaving only the stone foundations. New buildings were erected near the site after the war, and Point of Fork was operated as a state arsenal until 1801 when it was abandoned in favor of the more centrally located arms manufactory in Richmond. During its brief period of service, Point of Fork Arsenal was used for the manufacture and repair of arms and equipment and supplied material in the last decade of the 18th century to combat the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania and to aid the Fallen Timbers campaign during the Northwest Indian War.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
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DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
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