Fort Knox (Maine)

Infobox_nrhp
name= Fort Knox
nrhp_type = nhl


caption = Fort Knox, Maine painting by Seth Eastman done between 1870 and 1875
nearest_city= Prospect, Maine
locmapin = Maine
lat_degrees = 44
lat_minutes = 33
lat_seconds = 58.3
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 68
long_minutes = 48
long_seconds = 8.7
long_direction = W
area =124 acres
built =1844
architect= Unknown
architecture= No Style Listed
designated= December 30, 1970 cite web
url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=812&ResourceType=Structure
title=Fort Knox
accessdate=2008-05-15
work=National Historic Landmark summary listing
publisher=National Park Service]
added = October 01, 1969 cite web
url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/
title=National Register Information System
date=2007-01-23
work=National Register of Historic Places
publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State (Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands)
refnum=69000023

Fort Knox, now Fort Knox State Park, in Maine was built from 1844-1869. It is located on the western bank of the Penobscot River in Prospect, Maine, about 5 miles from the mouth of the river. It was the first fort in Maine built of granite (instead of wood). It is named after Henry Knox, the first US Secretary of War, who at the end of his life lived not far away in Thomaston, Maine. The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

Construction began during a period of tension between the United Kingdom and the United States over issues about the Canadian border following the Aroostook War. The intent was to defend the Penobscot River and Bangor, Maine, a major source of shipbuilding lumber. Construction funding from Congress was intermittent, and the fort's design was never fully completed although nearly a million dollars were spent. Granite was quarried five miles upriver from Mount Waldo in Frankfort, Maine.

It had two batteries facing the river, each equipped with a hot shot furnace to heat cannon shots hot enough to set ships on fire. These became obsolete with the changeover from wooden ships to ironclads.

The fort was manned during the U. S. Civil War by volunteers from Maine (mostly recruits in training before assignment to active duty). At this time the bulk of the work on the fort, including adapting the batteries to use the recently invented Rodman cannon was finished under the supervision of Thomas Lincoln Casey. It was manned during the Spanish-American War by a regiment from Connecticut. The garrison was reduced to one upon their departure at the end of the war. The fort never saw battle. In 1923, the federal government declared the fort excess property and put its 125 acre grounds up for sale. It was bought by the state of Maine for $2,121. It is now a Maine state historic site and was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark on December 30, 1970.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/69000023.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Fort Knox State Park / Fort Knox] |32 KB|date=July 10, 1970 |author=Charles W. Snell |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/69000023.pdf "Accompanying 12 photos, exterior and interior, from 1970"] |32 KB]

Fort Knox also serves as the entry site for the Observation Tower of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which opened to the public on May 19, 2007.

Image gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.maine.gov/cgi-bin/doc/parks/find_one_name.pl?park_id=37/ Fort Knox web site]
* [http://fortknox.maineguide.com/ Up to Date info Friends of Fort Knox web site]
* [http://www.ume.maine.edu/~ITHCRA/Ithcra/Bucksport/Bucksport_History.html#Fort%20Knox Bucksport and Fort Knox info]
* [http://fortknox.maineguide.com/education.html History from Friends of Fort Knox]