Page "Augusta, Maine" Paragraph 2

A hotbed of Abenaki hostility toward British settlements was located further up the Kennebec at Norridgewock.

In 1722, the tribe and its allies attacked Fort Richmond ( now Richmond ) and destroyed Brunswick.

In response, Norridgewock was sacked in 1724 during Dummer's War, when English forces gained tentative control of the Kennebec.

In 1754, a blockhouse named Fort Western ( now the oldest wooden fort in America ), was built at Cushnoc on the eastern bank.

It was intended as a supply depot for Fort Halifax upriver, as well as to protect its own region.

In 1775, Benedict Arnold and his 1, 100 troops would use Fort Western as a staging area before continuing their journey up the Kennebec to the Battle of Quebec.