Fort Defiance
National Register of Historic Places

Fort Defiance

Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina
Listed
September 14, 1970
Type
Building
Period
Early Republic
Ref No.
70000444

About this property

Fort Defiance is a historic plantation house located near Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina. The main block was built between 1788 and 1792, and is a two-story, frame structure measuring 28 feet by 40 feet. A wing was added in 1823. It was the home of Revolutionary War General William Lenoir. The property was transferred to the Caldwell County Historical Society in 1965 and operated as a historic house museum. This location on the Yadkin River was originally built upon by the troops serving under Elijah Isaacs in the summer of 1776. At the time, it was known as Fort Isaacs. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Western North Carolina politician George Washington Hayes married his second wife at Fort Defiance on February 6, 1842.

Location

Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina
36.01288, -81.50428

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREMILITARYPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Fort Defiance

This page lists Fort Defiance. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Lenoir, Walter James, House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Patterson School Historic District
Listed
1 mi
Clover Hill
Industrial
1.7 mi
Fountain, The
Industrial
2.1 mi
Riverside
Early Republic
5.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Stoneman's Raid — Lenoir NC
1865Civil War
7.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Fort Defiance listed on the National Register?

Fort Defiance was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 1970.

What type of historic resource is Fort Defiance?

Fort Defiance is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Fort Defiance?

The period of significance for Fort Defiance is recorded as the early_republic era, specifically around 1788.

Can I research the history near Fort Defiance?

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