The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The community name is derived from a frontier fort built in 1758 by William Byrd III as an outpost during the French and Indian War. The fort was named after Byrd's business partner Colonel John Chiswell, a prominent businessman with whom he owned and operated lead mines in the area. The fort, which was of strategic importance during the American Revolution as the guardpost over a small deposit of lead used to mold bullets, was situated at the junction of the Great Trading Path and the Richmond Road, near the New River. The fort fell into disrepair in the 18th century as both the county seat and courthouse were moved from Fort Chiswell to the county seat of Wytheville, 12 miles to the west. The remaining foundations of the Fort and its surrounding buildings were completely covered over during the construction of I-77 in Wythe County during the 1970s. There is a pyramid shaped historica…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Fort Chiswell’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fort Chiswell’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Fort Chiswell, decade by decade
2000
Commons2017-06-13 09 33 02 View south along Virginia State Route 9…2017
Commons2017-06-13 09 27 16 View north along Virginia State Route 1…2017
CommonsAnderson County, USA - panoramio (3)2015
CommonsIntersection of Interstates 77 and 81 - Exit 812014
CommonsWilderness Road Inscription, Ft. Chiswell Historic Marker2011
CommonsMillstone from Mill at Ft. Chiswell - one of 3 on the marke…2011
CommonsFt. Chiswell, VA Marker Inscription2011
CommonsFortChiswellVAMonument2008
CommonsDoubleWrongWayConcurrencyVA2008
CommonsVAMap-doton-FortChiswell2005
CommonsFt. Chiswell Animal Park20052 historic places in Fort Chiswell
2 places in Fort Chiswell are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (11). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.