 In 1749, the French overtook the peninsula from the Iroquois and built a fort naming it Fort Presque Isle meaning, “almost island”.Charles Boishebert and 200 men, who were sent out by the Canadian Governor Marquis Duquesne, to make new settlements for the French, discovered the land.In 1760, the British commandeered the fort, but only had possession of it for a few years.