Active from 1755 until 1756, the stockade briefly sheltered pioneer settlers in the Juniata River valley during the French and Indian War.

[2] In late 1755, Colonel John Armstrong wrote to Governor Robert Hunter Morris: "I am of the opinion that no other means of defense than a chain of blockhouses along or near the south side of the Kittatinny Mountains from the Susquehanna to the temporary line, can secure the lives and property of the inhabitants of this country.

"[3]: 557  The provincial government of Pennsylvania decided that a string of forts should be constructed across the province from the Delaware Water Gap to the Maryland line.

[7]: 385 Croghan began construction in December 1755, and in January 1756, the fort was named by Governor Robert Hunter Morris in honor of John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville.

Delaware and Illinois warriors, along with a small group of French soldiers, joined the Shawnee in their effort to drive off the new interlopers by attacking recently established farms.

[8] By the summer of 1756, the local settlers only left the fort when absolutely necessary due to an increase in the number of sightings of Native Americans intent on reclaiming their land.

[8] Around 22 July, some 60 to 70 Indian warriors, including Shawnee, Delaware, and Illinois, appeared outside the fort ready for battle, but the commanding officer declined to engage in hopes they would leave.

A short distance from the river they killed a man named Baskins, burned his house, and took his wife and children captive.

[9] Following orders from the French commander, Fort Granville was burnt by Captain Jacobs, leader of the Delaware participants.

[14]: 108  They tied him to a stake and "after having heated several old gun barrels red-hot, they danced around him, and every minute or two, seared and burned his flesh... After tormenting him almost to death, they scalped him, and then held up a lad, who ended his sufferings by laying open his skull with a hatchet.

One source says that it was due to a personal feud with an Indian named Fish whom Turner had killed,[15] but a French report of Fort Granville's capture, found after the capture of Fort Duquesne in 1758, says that Turner was accused of murdering Simon Girty Sr., (Simon Girty's father) in order to marry his widow.

[7]: 394 [Note 1] One prisoner, a man named Barnhold, managed to escape and provided the first eyewitness account of the fort's capture.

[7]: 391  The other captives were taken to Fort de Chartres in the Illinois country, where they were ransomed from the Indians by the French officers and local inhabitants.

[1] Thomas Girty, stepson of Sergeant John Turner, was rescued during the raid and provided additional details about the fort's capture.