Fort Pownall was a British fortification built during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, whose remains are located at Fort Point State Park in Stockton Springs, Maine. The fort was named for Governor Thomas Pownall, who oversaw its construction. It never saw action, and was destroyed during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

by the actions of both colonists and the British military to prevent its further use. The fort's remains were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1969.

Setting

Fort Point State Park is located at the easternmost tip of Cape Jellison, a triangular peninsula which 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, ...

at the mouth of the Penobscot River. The park, established in 1974, includes, in addition to the ruins of Fort Pownall, the Fort Point Light. The cape's eastern tip forms a narrow peninsula, with the fort's ruins on the high ground near its easternmost end.

History

In 1759, during the

, Massachusetts governor Thomas Pownall led the construction of a fort here, which he named Fort Pownall after himself. It was one of three significant forts which the British built on the major rivers in the Northeast to cut off the native water ways to the ocean to prevent Indian attacks on the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

(see also Fort Halifax and Fort Frederick). The fort was also intended by Pownall to reduce France's presence in North America, since "for as long as any Indian has any claim to he region surrounding the fort the French will maintain a title to them." The first commander of the fort was Jedidiah Preble (1759-1763), followed by Col. Thomas Goldthwait (1763-1775). In 1775, British forces seized the cannons and powder during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Later, a regiment of

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

soldiers burnt the blockhouse and filled in most of the ditches to prevent their use by the British.

Description

The fort, as built, was roughly on each side, with an octagonal star-shaped earthworks surrounded by a moat or ditch wide and deep. Inside the earthworks was a blockhouse, built out of squared timbers, measuring on each side, and two stories in height. At each corner there was a diamond-shaped projection, where each side was . Because the blockhouse and other wooden elements of the fort were burned, only the earthworks and stone foundations remain.

References

External links

Fort Point State Park
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Fort Point State Historic Site Brochure
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry {{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Waldo County, Maine Pownall Pownall National Register of Historic Places in Waldo County, Maine

Setting

History

Description

See also

References

External links