F-101 Voodoo Website (Read 3,771 times)

“Fort Delaware”

(Photo posted Below)
Fort Delaware 1960's. Photo: Harold Price

Fort Delaware was a very special place for me and I have many fond memories of going there with family members.

It's a place rich in history. Many of the local families had ancestors that helped establish the fort and had cabins in and near the fort. My Grandmother's (Sarah Skinner Price) Great Grandfather Danial Skinner was one of the first settlers in the Delaware River Valley.
The present day Fort is a replica of the frontier “lower fort” of the Cushetunk settlement of 1755-1785 which was originally located six miles up river near Milanville, Pennsylvania. Another fort was situated further up river in the Cushetunk settlement.

Fort Delaware is “dedicated to the Connecticut Yankees, who settled in the Delaware Valley.” The first settlers, farmers of English descent who came primarily from eastern Connecticut, formed “The Delaware Company” and purchased land from the Lenape Indians, signing the first deed in 1754. The Lenape referred to this ten-mile long strip along both sides of the Delaware River as “Cushetunk,” or something that sounds similar, which means either “a place of red stone hills” or “low lands washed over by water.”

By 1760 there were thirty cabins, a gristmill and sawmill. Each spring saw the arrival of more. settlers who faced hardships probably never conceived of in Connecticut: a remote wilderness, rough winters, the possibility of Indian attacks and the concern that farming the land might not sustain them. In 1761 a stockade was erected around three homes to serve as protection for the entire settlement against attack.


Every "4th Of July" we would spend the day below the Fort in the fields along the river. It was called, "Firemen's Field Day." Lots of games, rides, shows, and food stands. During the day Fort Delaware would fire cannons and the sounds would echo up and down the river valley. Some years F-101 VooDoo jets from the New York Air National Guard would make passes over the field. They were known as "The Syracuse Boys" of the 174th Fighter Interceptor Squadron based at Hancock Field near Syracuse, NY.

(Photo posted above)
F-101 VooDoo Fighter from the 174th FIS. Internet Photo

One year when I was there with my Uncle Ralph two F-101 VooDoo fighter jets passed over the crowd hit their afterburners making an awesome boob sound. Then they pointed the jets upward and climbed out of sight.

Besides the sounds of jets and the fort's cannons, there were the trains passing along the Erie Railroad tracks off and on during the day. There was plenty to keep you busy all day and plenty of exciting sounds for a young lad.

Then at dusk the local firemen would set off the fireworks. The explosions would echo around the river valley and the firework flashes would reflect off the hillsides and fort. They were nights to remember.