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Fort Knox on the Penobscot
A remarkable example of Third-System military architecture and a National Historic Landmark
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The Penobscot Narrows Observatory tower at Fort Knox is open to the public from 9 am to 5 pm, 7 days a week.
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 Built on a bluff above the Penobscot River, Fort Knox served to protect the industry further upriver against another attack by a foreign naval power. After the failed Penobscot Expedition, which sought to drive the British out of Fort George in Castine in 1779, the British navy dealt the Colonial forces the worst naval defeat in American history with a loss of thirty-seven vessels.
To prevent another threat to the people and industry of the Penobscot Valley, which later included the largest lumber exporting port in the world at Bangor, the U.S. government set out to build a huge granite fortress that would thwart any future attack.
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Get your fingers dirty...and your hands on pieces of history
You're invited to take part in an
Archaeological Field School
at Fort Knox this summer! |
Sign up now for the Friends of Fort Knox Archaeological Field School this summer!
School will be in session this August at Fort Knox for those willing to get their hands dirty. The Friends of Fort Knox announced that they will be sponsoring a first ever archaeological field school at the State Historic Site. The field school will be conducted in two, one week sessions, Monday through Friday, August 11 to 15 and the 18th through the 22nd. The purpose of the archaeological field school is to study the area of a known foundation that likely served as a support structure during the construction of Fort Knox, from 1844 until 1869.
There has been little archeological work done on the Fort Knox State Historic Site and the Friends of Fort Knox believe that there exists an undiscovered Fort Knox, which lies just below the surface of the ground. The Friends are excited about the potential discovery of archaeological artifacts that would open up new possibilities for public interpretation and education. It is hoped that this archaeology project will bring a greater understanding of how the Fort was built and functioned.
According to various 19th Century Fort Knox reports there existed a number of buildings used in support of construction and for temporary housing. In addition to the reports, old photographs and paintings of the Fort reveal out buildings used as barracks, blacksmith shop, stone shed and other structures used during the construction period of 1844 to 1869. A preliminary archaeological survey contracted 1999 by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Friends of Fort Knox, confirmed the existence of support buildings and identified a foundation overgrown with vegetation that will be the focus of the field school.
The archaeological field school will be conducted in two consecutive one-week sessions. Students will receive hands-on archaeological experience as well as classroom presentations. The classroom presentations will include an introduction to Maine historical archaeology, introduction to field archaeology, history of 19th Century third-system fortifications and Fort Knox.
Peter Morrison, of Crane & Morrison Archaeology, Freeport, Maine, will serve as the principal investigator for this project. Morrison earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Maine in 1986, and his Master of Arts Degree in History, Historical Archaeology Option, at the same institution in 2002. His Master’s thesis concerned the architecture of buildings at the 1607-1608 Popham Colony in Phippsburg, Maine. He has worked in archaeology for over 20 years. His research interests include New England historical archaeology, historical fortification, early Acadian settlement, vernacular architecture, agricultural history, and historical landscapes. Recent historical and archaeological research has included study of the Bar Harbor Water Company, Bar Harbor, Maine; Fort Knox, Prospect, Maine; Forts Lee and Pickering, Salem, Massachusetts; and in association with the Abbe Museum, the Frenchman’s Bay Historical Sites Survey, Hancock County, Maine.
In order to help cover the costs of the archaeological field school, tuition has been set at $350 per student ($300 for Friends of Fort Knox members), for each one week session and is limited to 15 students per session. Teachers attending the field school would be able to apply for recertification credits for contact hours accumulated through participation in the field school. If interested in attending the archaeological field school please contact the Friends of Fort Knox, at 469-6553 or email FOFK1@aol.com.
Contact: Leon Seymour
FFK – 469-6553
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