Fort Heath (Winthrop Highlands, Massachusetts)
Winthrop Highlands · Massachusetts · World War I, World War II, Cold War
History & Significance
A geodetic survey station was placed on the site in 1847, and the military reservation was established in 1895. The Winthrop Mortar Batteries of the regular army were ordered to Grovers Cliff in May 1898, with construction beginning that spring under Lieutenant Sewail.
Battery Theodore Winthrop was completed by 1901 with three 12-inch M1888 guns on M1896 disappearing carriages, the heaviest guns in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps at the time. The fort was part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston and was garrisoned by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps.
A United States Coast Guard radio station with call sign "NMF" opened on November 12, 1931, initially testing traffic relayed from Point Bonita, California. By 1938, the United States Navy Field Test Station, Fort Heath, included a Massachusetts Institute of Technology research facility for fire-control systems.
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 945 covered the northern harbor approaches with a pair of 90 mm guns, and the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Coast Artillery Regiment was activated at Fort Heath on June 1, 1941. During the Cold War, the Fort Heath radar station was a NORAD Control Center from 1960–69 for coordinating interceptors and Project Nike surface-to-air missiles. By 2005, the fort property acquired by the town had been converted to a municipal park.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Commemorative markers and plaques documenting the fort's coastal defense and Cold War radar role
- Small Park municipal recreation area on the former military grounds
- Proximity to Boston and Winthrop Harbors with views of active waterfront
- Historical markers explaining the site's 1898-era construction and subsequent military evolution
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Heath
- https://fortwiki.com/Fort_Heath
- https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Fort_Heath
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Defenses_of_Boston
- https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/maboston2.html
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