Map of 1796 Detroit showing location of Fort Shelby.Fort Shelby was a military fort in Detroit, Michigan that played a significant role in the War of 1812. It was built by the British in 1779 as Fort Lernoult, and was ceded to the United States by the Jay Treaty in 1796. It was renamed Fort Detroit by Secretary of War Henry Dearborn in 1805. The fort was surrendered back to the British by William Hull in 1812, and again reclaimed by the Americans in 1813. The Americans renamed it Fort Shelby in 1813. It was given to the city of Detroit in 1826 and dismantled in 1827.
The fort was centered on the present-day intersection of Fort Street and Shelby Street in downtown Detroit, and bounded by Michigan Avenue, Griswold Street, W. Congress Street, and Cass Avenue. While excavating in 1961 to build the Detroit Bank & Trust building, the remains of a wooden post from the fort were discovered. A total of over 8000 artifacts were retrieved and are now housed at the Anthropology Museum at Wayne State University.
