- Fort McClary
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name =Fort McClary
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caption = The renovated blockhouse of Fort McClary, dating from 1844, which now serves as a museum
location =Off ME 103 near Fort McClary State Park
nearest_city =Kittery Point, Maine
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added =October 1 ,1969
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refnum = 69000025
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governing_body =Fort McClary was a defensive fortification of the
United States military located along the southern coast ofMaine at Kittery Point, the seaside district of Kittery. Used primarily throughout the 19th century, it was built to protect approaches to the nearbyPiscataqua River . The property and its surviving structures, including ablockhouse dating from 1844, are now owned and operated by the State of Maine as Fort McClary State Historic Site.History
Coastal defenses on the site date to the late 17th century, when Sir William Pepperell, a local wealthy landowner, acquired the property and erected crude defense works. In 1715 the
Massachusetts Bay Colony voted to erect a permanent breastwork of six guns for the defense of the Piscataqua River. The fort itself was officially established in 1808 and named forNew Hampshire native Major Andrew McClary, an American officer killed the 1775Battle of Bunker Hill . The fort was used throughout the 19th century, most notably during theWar of 1812 , as well as during theAmerican Civil War , during which timeVice President of the United States Hannibal Hamlin enlisted in the Maine Coast Guards and served as a cook in the fort. It saw little action during these conflicts.By the 1910s, most of the fort had fallen into disrepair and it was officially decommissioned in 1918. The State of Maine acquired most the property from the federal government in 1924, after which time it was managed as a park. Several of the dilapidated structures were demolished in the following decades. During
World War II , surviving parts of the fort were used by civilian defense forces. In 1969, it was placed on theNational Register of Historic Places .The surviving blockhouse and other structures were renovated in 1987. The 1844 blockhouse serves as a museum.
Gallery
External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/Fort_McClary/history.html History of Fort McClary]
* [http://www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/parks/find_one_name.pl?park_id=38 Maine Bureau of Parks and Land: Fort McClary State Historic Site]
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