The oldest blockhouse in the United States at Fort Halifax

Nestled in the town of Winslow, Maine, you'll find Fort Halifax. Built in 1754 as a wooden palisaded fort, it currently features a single surviving blockhouse - the oldest blockhouse in the United States. The fort was established at the confluence of the Kennebec and Sebasticook rivers by Major General John Winslow to guard Wabanaki canoe routes and prevent attacks on English settlements.

In 1755, the commanding officer, Captain William Lithgow, discontinued Major-General Winslow's original construction plan, citing limited manpower and expense. The fort was made smaller and more defensible, and was completed in 1756. The Canadiens and Natives immediately made plans to destroy the fort. In May 1756, the natives attacked soldiers from the fort. In 1756, near Topshee, Col Lithgow and a party of 8 men were ambushed by 17 natives, both sides suffering the loss of two men. The natives later killed two more white men in the area.

Fort Halifax hosted troops under Colonel Benedict Arnold in September 1775 during his expedition to Quebec City. By the end of the American Revolution, most of the fort was dismantled. By the early 19th century, only the blockhouse remained. The fort was abandoned in 1766 and sold into private hands, eventually becoming a State Historic Site where it remains preserved today.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons