Cape Jellison is a peninsula that juts into

Penobscot Bay Penobscot Bay () is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine, a stretch known as Midcoast Maine, in a broader Atlantic region known as Down East. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, ...

on the coast of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. In colonial times it was known as Wasaumkeag Point. It is part of the town of Stockton Springs, between Searsport and Bucksport, in the upper mid-coast region of the state. It was the site of the first port facility built by the

Bangor and Aroostook Railroad The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was a United States railroad company that brought rail service to Aroostook County, Maine, Aroostook County in northern Maine. Brightly-painted BAR boxcars attracted national attention in the 1950s. First-genera ...

Fort Point State Park

Maine's Fort Point State Park is located on Fort Point, a smaller peninsula extending eastward from the cape, that includes both the colonial-era Fort Pownall and the Fort Point Light Station. In 1760, Massachusetts governor Thomas Pownall led the construction of a fort on Cape Jellison, which he named Fort Pownall after himself. It was intended to secure the area for European settlement by driving off the remaining

Norridgewock Norridgewock (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Nanrantsouak'') was the name of both an Indigenous village and a Band society, band of the Abenaki ("People of the Dawn") Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans/First Nations in Canada, ...

and Penobscot Indians. No battles ever took place at the fort. In 1775, British forces seized the cannons and powder. Later, a regiment of continental soldiers burnt the blockhouse and filled-in most of the ditches to prevent their use by the British. On the eastern end of Cape Jellison, overlooking the mouth of the Penobscot River, is the Fort Point Light Station. This station was established in 1836 and automated in 1988.

External links

Map of Fort Point State Historic Site

References

Fort Point Bangor and Aroostook Railroad {{Maine-geo-stub