In 1754, George Washington led a modest team of Virginia troops to the Ohio Country to force the French troops away from the area. Washington wanted to seize Fort Duquesne, but he soon realized that the fort was extremely powerful.
Washington troops then withdrew and constructed Fort Necessity instead. Since driving the French out of the region was not possible, at least they would contest their presence with the new fortification.
Clean-up is proceeding very slowly and thousands of hectares of cropland is still off-limits to farmers. Government officials have stated that some land may need to be quarantined for 30 years or longer.
