Congress paid for a chain of forts in 1841, and Detroit's was meant to answer Fort Malden, across the river in Canada. Building began in 1842, and the fort was finished in 1851 at a cost of $150,000.
The barracks is a 3½-story limestone building in five sections, each meant to house one company of soldiers. It dates from 1848. Brick washrooms and kitchens were added to the back in 1861.
The two countries settled their differences before any cannon was installed, and the fort sat nearly empty for about a decade with a single watchman. In the Civil War it mustered Michigan volunteers, and in World War II it became a huge motor supply depot. Since 1948 the Army has handed it to the City of Detroit in pieces.