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Cheney pioneer settler John Lemon recalled about this fort, erected in 1878, as a bastion to repel local American Indian tribes considered to be hostile to white newcomers. The fort, located about three-quarters of a mile northeast of the future site of Benjamin P. Cheney Academy (erected in 1881-1882), was never used for military purposes. Lemon said: "I located on the place just west of the present town site of Cheney in March, 1878. There were only a few settlers in that part of the county in that time. The settlers were threatened by the Indians in the spring and summer of 1878, so we decided to prepare for them. I helped build a fort and a hill west (north) of Cheney, known as Cronk's Hill. We were not molested by the Indians, so the building was used for a schoolhouse and church until the following winter, when a hard windstorm demolished it." (See "History of the State Normal School at Cheney, Washington,"Accessed 08/04/2014.) About a dozen students attended the fort school in 1878.

Demolished. This fort lasted only a short time, until late 1878 or early 1879.

PCAD id: 19342