is located on Sabino Hill in Phippsburg. Constructed between 1905 and 1912, three batteries are hidden in the woods overlooking the mouth of the Kennebec River and old Fort Popham. During World War I, it housed two artillery companies guarding access to central Maine from Bath to Augusta. In the Second World War, a tall…
Fort Fairfield, established during the Aroostook War, took its name from Governor John Fairfield. The original fort (1839-1843), a duplicate of Fort Kent, was dismantled in 1862. A replica was built in 1976. The 1875 Canadian-Pacific Railroad station is part of the Railroad Museum at the old Bangor & Aroostook rail yard. The town, in the heart of potato country, hosts the Potato Blossom Festival in July.
The structure was begun in 1858, a year after Congress authorized funds, on Hog Island in Portland Harbor. By the end of the Civil War it was outdated with the invention of the rifle cannon that could destroy its granite structure. Fort Gorges is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently owned by…
A fort, named for Governor Edward Kent, was constructed between 1838 and 1840 to assert Maine’s authority and protect settlers during the bloodless Aroostook War. Populated largely by descendents of Acadians fleeing British persecution, French is frequently the language of choice.
named for General Henry Knox, is located in the town of Prospect in Fort Knox State Park on the banks of the Penobscot River across from Bucksport. The British controlled this area of the Maine coast during the War of 1812 and during the tensions surrounding the Aroostook War in 1838, the area felt threatened…
Fort Popham stands on Hunnewell Point in Phippsburg at the mouth of the Kennebec River. This semi-circular structure was begun in 1862 but never completed. It was then that the Union realized how vulnerable the area was to potential British incursions in support of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Concern was greatest for the…
stood on Fort Point in Stockton Springs on the Penobscot River. In 1626 the English set up a trading post at the mouth of the Penobscot River. The French and Indians attacked with great ferocity. In ten years it was abandoned. A crude fortification was build in 1640 and successful enough so that one hundred…
In 1625, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims sailed to the Kennebec River in hopes of establishing a trading relationship with area Indians. By 1628 the Pilgrims were operating a year-round trading post just south of where Fort Western now stands. The Pilgrims made the voyage in a 38-foof open-hulled, single-masted sailing vessel called a shallop. A…
is located in the town of Bristol, Lincoln County, in the Pemaquid area. Built in 1692, it was destroyed in 1696 by the French under the leadership of Baron de Castin. The tower, and parade grounds are replicas built in 1908. Three forts have stood on essentially the same grounds. After and Indian attack destroyed…
Fort Williams is located in Cape Elizabeth and its grounds constitute Fort Williams City Park. In 1873 construction had begun on earthworks fortifications and was known as the Battery at Portland Head. By 1892, concrete batteries had been placed over the original structure. It remained a sub-post of Fort Preble (near Southern Maine Community College)…
Great Diamond, home to Fort McKinley, is just northeast of its neighbor Little Diamond Island, linked only by a sandbar at low tide. The island has a limited network of roads, used primarily by golf carts and bicycles. Access is by about a half hour ferry ride from Portland Harbor, with two landing sites. Landing site…