Pickens County Historical Society members Anne Sheriff, Wayne Kelley, Julia Woodson, Nancy Pace and Ken Nabors are pictured at the dedication of the Fort Prince George marker at Mile Creek.

SIX MILE — A sizable crowd witnessed the dedication of the South Carolina State Historic Marker for Fort Prince George as it was unveiled at Mile Creek Park recently.

Sponsored by the Piedmont Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, it is the 17th state historic marker in Pickens County.

Fort Prince George was built in 1753 by His Majesty’s Royal Governor James Glen at the request of Attakullakulla and his fellow Cherokee chiefs in the Keowee Valley in what is now Pickens County.

It was the hub of extraordinary trade and the guardian of the frontier.

Pickens County Historical Society senior vice president Wayne Kelley told the crowd the fort played a deciding role in the French and Indian War, and the names of young soldiers Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, William Moultrie, and Andrew Pickens, are forever linked with Fort Prince George.

“Now, more than 250 years later, the Pickens County Historical Society and our partners intend to resurrect our important lost heritage by rebuilding the fort in its entirety in a nearby pristine valley,” Kelley said. “It can be an economic engine for historic tourism for Pickens County and the Upcountry of South Carolina.”