Platted on a Railroad Bet That Paid Off
Cephas Fort platted 33 lots on his own land in 1849, betting a railroad would come through — and in 1852 the Bee Line Railroad, later part of the New York Central, proved him right, naming its depot Fortville in his honor. The town incorporated in 1865 with 240 residents, and its original rail-town core carries plumbing history stretching back well over a century.
Depot-Era Streets, Newer Edges
We treat Fortville's original 1849–1865 rail-town streets the way we treat any century-plus-old core: expect several generations of pipe material layered together. The town's newer residential edges, built long after that depot era, run on straightforward modern systems.