Fort Sandoské

Fort Sandoské was a French military fort on the Marblehead Peninsula in Ohio, positioned on the northern shore of Sandusky Bay. The location sat near a traditional water route that connected the bay to Lake Erie, making it strategically useful for travel and supplies.

French soldiers from Fort Detroit built this fort in 1750 after forcing out English traders who had run a trading post there since 1745. The site was left behind in 1754 after serving as a supply link between Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit.

The name Sandoské comes from Wyandot language and means something connected to water, showing the Native American roots of this place. Walking around the site today, you can sense how the location's position on the bay made it important to the people who lived here first.

The site sits on the Marblehead Peninsula with access from coastal roads that offer views of the bay. There are few visible remains of the fort today, so visitors will get more from the experience by reading about its history beforehand.

A French engineer named Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry sketched the fort's layout in his campaign journal around the time it was built, and his drawings ended up at Laval University in Quebec. These careful sketches are among the best records we have of what the fort actually looked like.