We got twisted around in our directions and ended up on some wonderful dirt roads which meandered through forests and swamps. I had thoughts of De'Etta and her "Me and my Ford" posts. It didn't get quite as bad as the road they drove on with their van as this terrain was quite level, but we wondered where we would end up. We finally found our way back to civilization and paved roads and drove to Fort Popham.
The four younger children took a snooze during the drive.
It was drizzling, gray and cool, but the children still headed right to a little patch of beach and rocks next to the Fort. The surf was a bit wild and the tide looked dangerous, so we did not let them go too far out. Bessie was disappointed as she loves to swim in the ocean, but after she saw Gracie the dog struggling with the current, she was glad we had put restrictions on the swimming.
Gabe was the only one who put on his swim suit. The rest just got soaked in their clothes. I'm sure glad we always have a change of clothes for everyone in the van.
After everyone was dried off and into clean, dry clothes, we ventured into the fort.
It is a beautiful structure, with many arched ceilings and lovely block work.
The room below was in total darkness. We did not have a flashlight, so I aimed the camera in and took a flash picture so the kids could see what was there. There were many of these dark chambers which I suppose would have been rooms of one sort or another. I can imagine that this would be a very spooky place at night.
Brian explains to Gabe how the turret windows worked. The canons are no longer there but you could see grooves in the stone floor made by the heavy wheels on the canon mounts rolling back and forth over many years.
A view from the second floor. I'm not sure what would have been across all these openings when the fort was in use.
A wonderful spiral stone staircase led up to the upper floors.
The original plan called for a moat around the fort, but it was never completed. Construction on Fort Popham was started in 1862 and was used during the Civil War, the Spanish American War and World War I.
9 comments:
What a neat old fort. Looks like you guys all had a fun adventure!
Fun to check in and see photos of your recent campting trip. Friends are such a blessing. It looks like you had a wonderful mix of friend and family time.....I'm starting to LONG for four seasons and an ocean.....maybe this summer. LOL
Ooohh - we've never been to Fort Popham! Sad isn't it. We do love Fort Knox though. Maybe some year you can come out & we'll do the Medieval Fair there. It's always the first weekend in September & LOTS of fun!
What a beautiful fort! I love going to places like that although we haven't done it in years.
Wow that is a very cool fort! My boys would love it! We love history and live near Fort Mott State park here in NJ. We love going through the old bunkers.
That's really cool. I had no idea we were building forts like that during the Civil War...
Funny how Gabe KNEW he wouldn't be able to resist that water, no matter what the temp.
Amazing scenery and I like the new blog skin! Nice fall change.
I was wondering if you had got away this year!
BTW I love your new header photo!
That looks like a very interesting place.
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