Fort William Henry (2001)
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 the Pemaquid settlement in 1676, Fort Charles, a wooden structure, was built in 1677. However, the fort and its settlement were again attacked and destroyed in 1689.
Johns Bay from Fort William Henry (2001)
Three years later Fort William Henry, one of the first stone forts in New England, was erected on the site. It had a commanding view of Johns Bay, the entrance to the Johns River and Pemaquid Harbor. Though praised by its sponsor, Sir William Phipps, governor of Massachusetts, saying that “the fort is strong enough to resist all the Indians in America,” the fort fell to the French and Indians in 1696. Yet again, it was destroyed.
Finally, in 1729 Fort Frederick, another stone fort, was built. It fate was in the hands of Americans who destroyed it in 1775 to deprive the British of its use against the Revolution.
The State of Maine, in 1908, restored the fort to its current condition.
Fort House below adjoins the Fort at the Fort William Henry Memorial.
Fort House (2001)
Additional resources
Beard, Frank A. and Bette A. Smith. Maine’s Historic Places: Properties on the National Register of Historic Places. Camden, Me. Down East Books. c1982. pp. 201-202.