Fort Hovey
Fort Hovey was a small earth-and-wood fort built during the Civil War on a hill overlooking the road junction between Ironton and Fredericktown. It was constructed to protect the Arcadia Valley and the iron mines on Pilot Knob Mountain.
The fort was built in winter 1861-1862 by the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry under Colonel Charles E. Hovey, from whom it took its name. After the Union victory at Pea Ridge in March 1862, it was renamed Fort Curtis to honor Brigadier General Samuel R. Curtis, and was abandoned in 1864 when Confederate forces advanced into Missouri.
The fort site is located today next to the Arcadia Valley United Presbyterian Church at the corner of Church and Spring Streets in Arcadia and is easy to access. A historical marker indicates the location since no remnants of the original structure remain visible.
The fort was briefly used by Confederate soldiers as an observation post during and after the Battle of Pilot Knob. This secondary use shows how both sides recognized the strategic value of the hilltop location.
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