Fort Beversreede

Fort Beversreede (after 1633–1651) was a Dutch-built palisaded factorij located near the confluence of the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River. It was an outpost of the colony of New Netherland, which was centered on its capital, New Amsterdam (Manhattan), on the North River (Hudson River).

The exact location of the fort is uncertain. A 1655 Swedish map shows it on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, on Providence Island (now part of the mainland), just south of Minquas (also known as Eagle's Nest or Mingo) Creek. Scharf & Westcott put it on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, opposite Minquas Creek. A 1770s map of Philadelphia's naval defenses shows a fort on the island, but it is unidentified.

Directly adjacent to (or opposite) the fort was the terminus of the Great Minquas Path, an 80-mile (130 km) trail from the Susquehanna River to the Schuylkill River. This was the primary trade route for furs from the Susquehannock people, and the Dutch named the trail "Beversreede" or "Beaver Road."

Though never recognized by the Dutch, the Delaware Valley region was effectively under control of the Swedish colony of New Sweden, which was first settled in 1638 at Fort Christina (now Wilmington, Delaware). Though the Swedes' colony included Dutch residents, the only official Dutch presence in the area was across the Delaware River at Fort Nassau, at the mouth of Big Timber Creek (south of today's Gloucester City, New Jersey). In 1642, members of the Connecticut Colony attempted to settle in the area, but their homes were burned and the nascent colony was repelled.

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