Fort Lee | |
 Overgrown earthworks of the fort | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Salem, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Built | 1776 |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000285[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 1994 |
Fort Lee is a historicAmerican Revolutionary War fort inSalem, Massachusetts. The site, located at a high point next to Fort Avenue on Salem Neck, is a relatively rare fortification from that period whose remains are relatively unaltered. It is an irregular 5-pointedstar fort.[2] Although there is some documentary evidence that the Neck was fortified as early as the 17th century, the earthworks built in 1776 are the first clear evidence of the site's military use. Reportedly, the fort had a garrison of 3 officers and 100 artillerymen with 16 guns.[2][3] The site, of which only overgrown earthworks and a stonemagazine survive, was repaired in the 1790s,[3] and rebuilt for theAmerican Civil War.[4] A state cultural resource document states that the fort has not been much modified since the Revolution, and has not been built over.[5] It was garrisoned by theMassachusetts militia in theWar of 1812, abandoned afterwards,[3] and rebuilt with four 8-inchcolumbiads in the Civil War.[4] An Army engineer drawing dated 1872 depicts the fort's five-pointed trace and the four Civil War gun positions.[6] It was also garrisoned during theSpanish–American War.[3]
The property was federalized in 1867, and transferred to the City of Salem in 1922. The site was briefly rehabilitated at the time of theUnited States bicentennial in 1976, with trails and interpretive signs, but these were later removed, and the site has again become overgrown.[5] Earthworks and a stone magazine remain.[2] The fort site was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1]
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Former military forts, reservations, and camps inMassachusetts | ||
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| Forts |
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| Reservations | ||
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42°31′55″N70°52′28″W / 42.53194°N 70.87444°W /42.53194; -70.87444
