The point at which the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers join to form the Ohio River (La Belle Riviere to the French) has been known as the Forks of the Ohio, an area recognized for its strategic importance by early British and French agents.
In the 1740s, William Trent, an English fur trader and entrepreneur, built a small trading post at the Forks. He conducted an active trade with neighboring Indian tribes and became wealthy in the process. The French noted the English presence and began to construct a string of forts in the area in the early 1750s; installations sprang up at Presque Isle, Marchault (Venango) and Le Boeuf.
Read Full Article »