Old Fort Steuben was not a fort in the traditional sense, but was built to store and protect the goods and supplies shipped for the teams about to set out to survey the western lands. The fort (as you see it today) has been reconstructed on the site of the original fort. When we visited in 2003, there was archaeological digging going on in the center of the "parade ground" inside the fort. (You can see the fence around the dig in the center of the picture)