Fort Halifax (Winslow, Maine)
Winslow · Maine · French and Indian War
History & Significance
On July 25, 1754, Major General John Winslow arrived with a force of 600 soldiers to establish the fort at the confluence of the Kennebec River with the Sebasticook River. The fort was named for George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, the British colonial secretary.
The palisaded defense was intended to prevent Canadiens and their Native American allies from using the Kennebec River valley as a route to attack English settlements. The 1755 complex included two main blockhouses, a barracks, and a main building, as well as two additional blockhouses overlooking the area from atop a nearby hill.
The fort was completed in 1756, made smaller and more defensible on orders from Captain William Lithgow. Although built as part of the colonial defenses during the French and Indian War (1754–63), there is no evidence the fort was ever the object of a direct attack.
When the war between the British and French in North America ended in 1763, the fort fell into private hands and later disrepair, until the State of Maine acquired the blockhouse in 1966. On April 1, 1987, a severe flood dismantled the blockhouse; twenty-two original logs were recovered, some found forty miles south, and the blockhouse was reconstructed on its original site in 1988.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Oldest surviving blockhouse in the U.S., reconstructed after 1987 flood
- French and Indian War-era British outpost built 1754
- Strategic location on Sebasticook River controlling canoe routes
- Site of Benedict Arnold's Revolutionary War expedition planning
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Halifax_(Maine)
- https://www.maine.gov/dacf/parks/discover_history_explore_nature/history/fort_halifax/index.shtml
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=116133
- https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/785b9355-fce7-4be3-b509-87fbf76b891e/
- https://www.maine.gov/mhpc/did-you-know/fort-halifax-blockhouse-1754-winslow-kennebec-county
- https://www.mainememory.net/