Fort Levett (Cushing Island, Cumberland County, Maine)

Cushing Island, Cumberland County · Maine · World War I, World War II

Quick BriefFort Levett was built on Cushing Island in Cumberland County beginning in 1898 as a coastal defense fort conceived under the Endicott Program and activated in response to the Spanish–American War. It was manned during both world wars before being decommissioned after 1945.

Endicott SystemCoastal defense

History & Significance

Constructed beginning in 1898 on Cushing Island in Casco Bay, Fort Levett was a coast artillery fort conceived under the Endicott Program in 1885 and built following the Spanish–American War. The fort served as part of the Coast Defenses of Portland (later renamed Harbor Defenses of Portland) from 1904 to 1950, protecting Portland's port and naval anchorage.

Originally five batteries defended the fort: Battery Bowdoin with three 12-inch disappearing guns, Battery Kendrick with two 10-inch guns, Battery Ferguson with two 6-inch guns, and Battery Daniels with two 3-inch guns. Battery Foote, completed in 1920, added two 12-inch guns on high-angle barbette carriages, increasing range from 18,400 to 29,300 yards.

The fort also operated as a wireless telegraph station. After the Fall of France in 1940, the harbor defenses were manned by the 8th Coast Artillery Regiment and the 240th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Maine National Guard, with the fort's capacity expanded from 124 to 758 men by June 1941. Following the end of World War II in 1945, all coast defense guns were scrapped by 1948, and the fort was sold; it was purchased by Cushing Island residents in 1957.