Old forts and lighthouses of Portland Harbor ...An afternoon on the Maine coast (Pic Heavy)

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Old forts and lighthouses of Portland Harbor ...An afternoon on the Maine coast (Pic Heavy)

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:03:37 PM EDT

It was quite overcast and rather chilly , but Id been meaning to get some shots of the area where I grew up in South Portland/Cape Elizabeth , Maine.

This is Portland Head Light and Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth......prolly one of the most recognized lighthouses in America.

A little history

On April 13, 1899, President McKinley named the one-time subpost of Fort Preble, Cape Elizabeth's first military fortification, Fort Williams. Named after Brevet Major General Seth Williams, Fort Williams grew to be a tremendous military asset during World War II. Besides protecting the shoreline of Cape Elizabeth, the infantry and artillery units provided the Harbor Defense for Portland. After the war, many of the forts in Casco Bay were closed, including Fort Williams, which traded in its defense of the coast for caretaker status and Army Reserve accommodations. Fort Williams was officially closed and deactivated on June 30, 1963.

More info and history

.......more in a minute......

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:09:17 PM EDT

[#1]

The Maine coast is one of the places I'd kill to build a house when I retire. I've always loved it up there.

Nice pics.

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:11:17 PM EDT

[#2]

I love the coast of Maine, have family near Bangor but haven't been back in almost ten years.

I visited an old fort in Acadia NP as a kid, I think it was Ft Knox? Pretty cool place.

I really need to go back again, had a hell of a time finding a bar last time I was there though.

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:13:55 PM EDT

[#3]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:13:55 PM EDT

[#4]

We have never been there but we would like to visit there one day.

Thanks for the pics!

BigDozer66

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:14:59 PM EDT

[#5]

Beautiful pix man, I'd love to see more!

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:16:05 PM EDT

[#6]

Nice pics. CE is definitely a high dollar zipcode. I worked with a bunch of people at Maine Med who lived there.

That park was one of the last places we visited befofre we moved to TX.

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:35:53 PM EDT

[#7]

Fort Preble (1808-1947) - Initially a Second System Fort established in 1808 by Henry A. S. Dearborn and named after Commodore Edward Preble. Modifications to upgrade it to a Third System Fort were begun but never completed. Continuously used through the U.S. Civil War,( Confederate sailors were imprisoned here after an unsuccessful raid on the harbor in 1863) the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. Four Endicott Period batteries were installed after the Spanish American War. An additional battery was constructed during World War II. Deactivated 31 Jul 1947 and declared surplus in 1950.

More info here

I spent alot of time here as a kid riding around on my bike and playing 'army' , crawling around with a flashlight inside the tunnels I could get into, and running all over the tops of the fortifications shooting 'nazis' in my own little D-Day dreams !

Now all the entrances are blocked off.........but I can still remember hoping to find hidden caches of forgotten bombs and machine guns

Most of the non-tactical buildings are in use by the college. Two mortar batteries have been buried and another destroyed, but the surviving batteries are in good condition.

The lighthouse at Spring Point , Ft. Gorges is visible in the harbor behind her.

A view out some of the cannon ports. They had the harbor pretty well covered......

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:41:03 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
CE is definitely a high dollar zipcode. I worked with a bunch of people at Maine Med who lived there.

"High dollar" is the understatement of the year

I lived in the South Portland suburbs .........we only dreamed of being able to afford of living in Cape Elizabeth. My grandparents did , but definately not oceanside.

It takes millions to get an ocean view , and those places around Ft Williams along the coast have price tags in the stratosphere

I couldnt even afford the taxes each year............and prolly have a hard time paying the heating bill.

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:43:31 PM EDT

[#9]

I love lighthouses, great thread

Posted: 12/26/2008 5:57:39 PM EDT

[#10]

Bug light at Cushing Point.......on the other end of Spring Point in South Portland.
Accross the bay is Portland.

A better view of FT.Gorges as a tugboat steams by.

.....thats all I got today.

Im going to probably head back up there for New Years........Ill try and get some other forts and Two Lights state park pics.

Posted: 12/26/2008 6:23:25 PM EDT

[#11]

Does the sun ever come out?

Posted: 12/26/2008 6:35:15 PM EDT

[#12]

tag

Posted: 12/26/2008 8:42:25 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
The Maine coast is one of the places I'd kill to build a house when I retire. I've always loved it up there.

Nice pics.

me 2
love Camden

Posted: 12/26/2008 8:45:09 PM EDT

[#14]

Cool pics

Posted: 12/26/2008 8:46:57 PM EDT

[#15]

Wow! Great thread!!!

Posted: 12/26/2008 8:55:27 PM EDT

[#16]

Tag for home when I can see pics. Sounds like you were right in my neck of the woods! I love taking the kids around to the local sights and light houses are always high on the list.

ETA- Good job on the pics! Nice representation of our local fishing hole!

Fishing can be pretty damn good around theyuh! Great big striper...mmmmmm

But like another poster said, the money down in the area is not to be believed by many of us. It's fun to drive through and check out some of the neater homes and property names.

Posted: 12/27/2008 2:34:46 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Does the sun ever come out?

Once in a while

I went up Christmas Eve and came back last night.......I didnt have much of a window with all the family stuff going on. I had my 16 yo daughter with me for the day too , and this wasnt really her idea of fun..........she wanted to go shopping.

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:00:33 AM EDT

[#18]

I walk through many of the areas in the photographs above.

If you could see it in summertime.........

Between Cushings Point and Fort Williams you can see four lighthouses at one time, Spring Point, Bug Light, Ram Island Light and the Ft. Williams Lighthouse.

When I was a teenager, we used to sneak into Ft. Williams at night to explore the underground forts. There were always people prying open the doors. Went down into a few of them years ago.....never again.

In Ft.Williams park at night is where you always made out with the girls.

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:13:38 AM EDT

[#19]

My uncle has a place on Little Diamond Island there in the harbor. My sister and I kayaked out to the fort in the water (can't remember the name). I think it was built during the Civil War era? That's a beautiful area.

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:15:26 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
My sister and I kayaked out to the fort in the water (can't remember the name). I think it was built during the Civil War era?

Ft. Gorges?

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:26:09 AM EDT

[#21]

you made me homesick

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:31:15 AM EDT

[#22]

That was it. I see it in one of your pics now! 3rd from the bottom.

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:49:59 AM EDT

[#23]

Nice pics, thanks!

Posted: 12/27/2008 4:50:34 AM EDT

[#24]

Great pictures, thanks.
Brings back some early memories, my grandfather was a lighthouse keeper working his way up the Kennebec. Some of my earliest memories are when we would spend the summer at Squirrel Point lighthouse, watching my grandfather get the diesel generator fired up to light the light. One of my first jobs was correctly raising and lowering the flag, not an easy task for 2 small children! If you are into lighthouse I can hook you up with my uncle (who lives in Cape Elizabeth) who is a great story teller and knows more about lighthouse then almost anyone, hell he grew up on Sequin which has one of the highest lighthouse in America. IM me and I will get you his information.

ETA: here is a picture of Squirrel Point going up the Kenebec..

Posted: 12/27/2008 5:20:45 AM EDT

[#25]

What no CG bouy tender pics? I was there a few years ago for a port call. Nice area. I learned the people from Maine, as a whole, are a special breed of people. I mean that in the nicest way I possibly can. haha

I remember that fort in the middle of the harbor and wondered what it was for(I knew it was for defense and damn, they had that place on lock down). I couldn't tell if it was WWII or even Civil War. Thanks for the pics from someone who always wondered about that area.

Posted: 12/27/2008 8:13:33 AM EDT

[#26]

I've been to that first lighthouse. The wife and I were their in early september 1998 late in the afternoon. The mosquitoes or black flies whatever they were ate us alive.

Maine coast is a beautiful place. Even Baaaah Haaabah with all the touristas.

Posted: 12/27/2008 1:14:40 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
I love the coast of Maine, have family near Bangor but haven't been back in almost ten years.

I visited an old fort in Acadia NP as a kid, I think it was Ft Knox? Pretty cool place.

I really need to go back again, had a hell of a time finding a bar last time I was there though.

You're almost undoubtedly thinking of Fort Knox in Prospect, Maine. It is right off Route 1 and you would certainly go by it on the way to Acadia. That fort is paradise for kids to go exploring through. Bring a flashlight

I like to take girls there on the motorcycle in the summer.

They've built an enormous bridge from Prospect to Verona Island in the last couple of years. It is now the tallest public bridge-observatory in the world. Phenomenal view of the fort and Penobscot Bay.

Link with info about Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Observatory

Ultramagbrion, thanks for sharing the pics! I love it.

I don't spend too much time in that area of the state, I stick out like a sore thumb in the CE area

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Old forts and lighthouses of Portland Harbor ...An afternoon on the Maine coast (Pic Heavy)

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