Fort Van Meter (Hampshire County, West Virginia)
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Fort Van Meter
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| Location | South Branch River Road (County Route 8), Glebe, West Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 39°14′10″N 78°50′30″W / 39.23611°N 78.84167°WCoordinates: 39°14′10″N 78°50′30″W / 39.23611°N 78.84167°W |
| Area | 1.9 acres (0.77 ha) |
| Built | 1754 |
| Architectural style | Other, side-gabled |
| NRHP Reference # | 09001191 |
| Added to NRHP | December 30, 2009 |
Fort Van Meter — or Fort VanMeter — is a mid-18th century frontier fort in the South Branch Potomac River Valley about 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Romney in Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. It is located 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Moorefield and about a mile northeast of the former community of Glebe at the northern end of the rugged river gorge known as The Trough.
Fort Van Meter, a small rectangular stone building erected around 1754 for the protection of white settlers against hostile Indians of the Delaware and Shawnee tribes, is still standing and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since 2009.
Fort Van Meter is a small rectangular building constructed of uncoursed local stone and surmounted by a pitched and side-gabled roof. (The roof's presently exposed rafters and cedar shake shingles were reconstructed in 1987.) Its floor measures about 19.6 feet by 13.8 feet. The walls are about 15 inches thick and feature several firing ports (loopholes) to allow defense of the fort by musket fire. (These are about 6-12 inches high and 2-3 inches wide.)
About 10 years prior to the fort's construction, the area approximately 8 miles upstream (the southern end of "The Trough") known as "Indian Old Fields" had been settled by Isaac Van Meter (ca. 1696-1757), his wife Annetje Wynkoop, and their four children. This Dutch-American family constructed a fortified log residence there in 1744. The earliest documents related to the land on which Fort Van Meter was constructed date to 11 June 1749 when Thomas, Lord Fairfax conveyed "Lot 2" (consisting of 405 acres) to Henry Van Meter (probably Isaac's son).
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