Fort Stark

Fort Stark, New Hampshire State Historic Site

Fort Stark in Rockingham County in what is now the US state of New Hampshire was a coastal fortification of the US Army. The fortress is located on a peninsula to the northeast of New Castle at the mouth of the Piscataqua River in the Atlantic. The ruins of the fort are now a State Historic Site.

history

Fort Stark was one of seven forts built to protect Portsmouth's harbor and shipyard . The other six forts were Fort Washington , Fort Constitution, and Fort Dearborn in New Hampshire, and Fort Sullivan , Fort McClary, and Fort Foster in Maine . Fort Stark was never involved in any acts of war.

Colonial times

The peninsula on which Fort Stark lies was formerly called Jerry's Point . The peninsula overlooks the mouth of the Piscataqua River and Little Harbor. As the first fortification, a ski jump called Battery Cumberland with nine 32 pounder cannons was erected here in 1746 . In early 1775, the British colonial administration of New Hampshire had the earthworks restored and equipped with eight guns. As early as May 1775, the New Hampshire militia removed the cannons and used them to arm the new forts Washington and Sullivan at the entrance to the port off Portsmouth. In September 1775, the militia set up new artillery pieces at Jerry's Point, which they had captured in the storming of Fort William and Mary in December 1774. After 1778 the battery deteriorated.

19th century

In 1794 the battery was renewed and manned by a militia company in the British-American War of 1812. In 1815 the facility was given up again.
Even during the Civil War there were plans to build a new fortress at Jerry's Point. However, the plans were not implemented. It was not until 1872 that the federal government bought the site and in 1873 began building a new fortress , called Battery Stark , made of concrete and earthen walls, which was to be equipped with up to twelve 38.1 cm rodman cannons . For financial reasons, the facility was reduced to eight guns during construction. About two thirds of the coastal fortifications were completed when construction suddenly stopped in 1876. In 1879 and 1885/86 minor works were continued before construction was finally stopped. The protected areas intended for the fortress were probably never erected. In 1887 a small coast guard station was built on the site. In 1898, pioneers in the US Army built a breakwater and a larger pier. In 1908 the station was moved to Wood Island near Fort Foster.

Expansion at the beginning of the 20th century and First World War

After the Spanish-American War of 1898, coastal defense became a priority. In 1899 two 20.3 cm guns were temporarily placed on the concrete system of the unfinished fortress, but they were dismantled again in 1900. In the course of the construction program named after the Secretary of War Endicott , the construction of four new gun emplacements began this year. For this purpose, three of the completed positions of the old facility from 1874 were completely demolished and four partially. The new fort was armed with two 30.5 cm guns, two 15.2 cm guns and four 7.6 cm guns. The fortress was named in 1900 after John Stark , commander of the New Hampshire militia during the Revolutionary War, and in 1905 it was placed under Fort Constitution. From 1907 the facility was expanded to include various mine stores. The old coast guard station served as barracks, while fire control equipment, searchlights and various other storage and workshop buildings completed the fortress.
In 1915 additional barracks were built. During the First World War in 1917, the tubes of the 15.2 cm guns were dismantled as they were intended for shipment to the Western Front in France. The pipes were not replaced after the end of the war and the mounts were finally dismantled in 1921. The mine bunkers and other facilities used to mine the harbor entrance were demolished as this task had been transferred to Fort Constitution after the end of the World War. In some cases, new fire control devices were installed for this purpose. However, the fort's crew was withdrawn and the fort was only maintained by a caretaker.

Second World War

During the Second World War, the fortress was reactivated in 1941. The old barracks were replaced by new wooden structures, as well as a fire station, officers' quarters, a guard house and numerous other buildings. A blocking net for anti-submarine defense was stretched between Fort Stark and Fort Foster. The old coast guard station served as a signal tower from which signals were given to the Coast Guard watch boat when the network should be opened or closed. In 1942, the outdated rapid-fire cannons were dismantled. Fort Stark's heavy artillery remained active until Fort Dearborn was completed in 1944, when it was also dismantled. To ward off enemy boat attacks, new light guns were set up.

After the Second World War

In 1948 the remaining guns from Fort Stark were scrapped and the area was handed over to the US Navy in 1950, which housed maintenance personnel there. Many of the old barracks buildings were demolished. In 1953, a reserve unit of the Navy moved into the former coastal fort and used it as a training area until 1980. In 1963, two 3-inch guns were installed on one of the old gun batteries as a memorial to the sinking of the nuclear submarine USS Thresher off Cape Cod. One of the guns is now in the small museum of the Historic Site.

Post-military use

In 1978, most of the property was given to the State of New Hampshire for the creation of a state park, with the remaining 6,000 square feet following in 1983. Except for the former batteries and the 1910 weapons store, which served as the State Historic Site's visitor center and museum, all of the remaining structures were tore off.
The former fort is now a four-acre State Historic Site. Admission to the site is free and the facility is accessible during the day all year round. There has been no permanent park staff since 1998, the small museum is only open in summer on Saturdays or by appointment. After being destroyed by vandalism, the interior of the gun batteries have not been accessible since 2002.

Web links

43.0575893 -70.7133854Coordinates: 43 ° 3 '27.3 " N , 70 ° 42' 48.2" W.