Gwinnett's Fort Daniel Site Gets A Little Bigger

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- The site of Gwinnett County’s historic Fort Daniel just got a little bigger.

The county commission on Tuesday voted to buy 5.4 acres adjoining the fort’s current property for $285,000.

Built shortly before Gwinnett County was founded in 1818, Fort Daniel was discovered by local archaeologists and historians in 2009.

The county bought the original 4.3-acre site with special-purpose sales tax money in 2012 and leased it to a private foundation, The Fort Daniel Foundation, which maintains it as a permanent archaeological research preserve and learning facility for researchers, educators and students.

The site is at 2505 Braselton Hwy. in northeast Gwinnett County.

“As Gwinnett County prepares to celebrate its 200th birthday in 2018, the preservation of additional property at one of our earliest historic sites seems most appropriate,” board Chairman Charlotte Nash said in a news release.

Maj. Gen. Allen Daniel commanded the 4th Division of Georgia’s militia and helped build the fort. Historians believe it replaced or refurbished a frontier fort built in the 1790s on the same spot.

More information about Gwinnett’s heritage programs is available online through the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center’s website at www.gwinnettehc.com.