Fort Baldwin Historic Site | |
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  Fort Baldwin Location in Maine | |
| Location | Sabino Hill,Phippsburg, Maine |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°45′00″N69°47′06″W / 43.75000°N 69.78500°W /43.75000; -69.78500 |
| Area | 6 acres (2.4 ha) |
| Built | 1905 (1905) |
| Architect | United States Army Corps of Engineers |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000166 |
| Fort Baldwin | |
| Part ofCoast Defenses of the Kennebec | |
| Phippsburg, Maine | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fortification |
| Owner | Public - State of Maine |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1905–1912 |
| Built by | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| In use | 1912–1924, 1941–1945 |
| Materials | Reinforced concrete, earth |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison |
|
| Added to NRHP | August 3, 1979 |
Fort Baldwin is a formercoastal defense fortification near the mouth of theKennebec River inPhippsburg, Maine, United States, preserved as theFort Baldwin State Historic Site.[1] It was named afterJeduthan Baldwin, an engineer for theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolution. The site was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1979.[2]
The fort was constructed between 1905 and 1912 and originally consisted of threebatteries.[3][4]
Additionally, facilities for acontrolled minefield in the river were built at nearbyFort Popham.[5] The fort was in caretaker status prior to theAmerican entry into World War I, and at some point was probably under theCoast Defenses of the Kennebec command.[3] DuringWorld War I, Fort Baldwin and Fort Popham had agarrison of 200 soldiers from the 13th and 29thCoast Artillery companies of theCoast Defenses of Portland.[2][6][7] All three 6-inch guns were withdrawn in 1917 as part of a program to put these weapons on field carriages and use them on theWestern Front. Battery Hawley's guns were not sent overseas and were remounted in 1919. Battery Hardman's gun was sent to France; apparently it was eventually returned to the US but not to Fort Baldwin. A history of the Coast Artillery in World War I states that none of the regiments in France equipped with 6-inch guns completed training in time to see action before theArmistice.[8]
In 1924, Fort Baldwin was disarmed as part of a general drawdown of less-threatened coast defenses and sold to the State of Maine. Early inWorld War II, four circular concrete "Panama mounts" were constructed at Fort Baldwin, two of them on Battery Hawley's 6-inch gun positions. These were to provide improved firing platforms for towed155 mm M1918 guns that were adopted by the Coast Artillery following World War I.[9] From 1941 to 1943, Battery D,8th Coast Artillery protected Fort Baldwin and itsFire Control Tower (Built 1943) that could radio the precise position of enemy vessels to batteries inCasco Bay, notablyBattery Steele with its 16-inch guns. A battery of four 155 mm guns, most likely fromFort Williams, was deployed to Fort Baldwin from early 1942 to January 17, 1944. After the war, the Army returned the property to the State of Maine in 1949.[3]
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