2. A Five-Sided Earthwork Fort Used to Exist in Inwood Hill Park
Fort Cockhill (known as Fort Cock or Fort Cox) was once located on the northwestern corner of the park on Cox’s Hill or Tubby Hook Hill (now Inwood Hill Park). Built by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, the 18th-century military fortification served as an outpost of Fort Tryon, overlooking the Hudson River and the Harlem River valley, and acting as the defense for northern Manhattan. It was a five-sided, circular structure, measuring between ten to twelve feet in height. In November 1776, however, the structure was captured by Hessian (German) troops of the British Army and held in their possession until the war ended seven years later.