It was constructed in June 1792 by Major General Anthony Wayne upon his commission to form the Legion of the United States.

It was sited near present-day Penn Avenue and Ninth Street in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh.

At the strategic position of the forks of the Ohio (where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join to form the Ohio River near present-day Pittsburgh), a series of forts was built by the French, British and U.S. Continental armies starting in 1754.

The French fort built in 1754 was named Du Quesne, later changed to Duquesne.

The fort later served as Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's supply base during the War of 1812.