After the war, the land around Fort Duffield passed into private hands. Mrs. Ann Guthrie owned the property before selling it to Henry Dink. The hill, once a military position, became part of a patchwork of local holdings.

Dink sold a portion of the property to the Fort Hill Stone Company, which operated a quarry and steam-powered rock crusher at the base of the hill. A narrow-gauge rail line climbed the hollow, carrying stone down to market. This industrial phase altered parts of the landscape but left the fort’s earthworks largely untouched.

When the stone company ran into financial trouble, the property was sold to Pendleton Beckley and wealthy associates, including Benedict DuPont of Delaware. They used the land as a hunting lodge and retreat, hosting guests from Louisville and beyond. The hill’s isolation and views made it attractive for recreation as well as industry.

By the late twentieth century, the hill was used as a shooting range by the West Point Police Department and other agencies. The steep slope provided a safe backstop. When Yelvington walked into the range in 1990, he encountered this modern use of a historic landscape—one more layer in the hill’s long story.