Fort Porter was constructed between 1841 and 1844 at Buffalo in Erie County, New York and named for General Peter Buell Porter. The site was bounded by Porter Avenue, Busti Avenue and the Erie Barge Canal. It was initially a square masonry two-story redoubt, 62 feet square, with crenelated walls surrounded by large earthworks and moat. The fort was considered the largest masonry "blockhouse" ever built; it burned in November 1863. The "castle" had been built in 1836 as a home for Col. James McKay.