While in Maine burying a friend last week I chanced upon Fort Knox,
an extremely large, massive and impressive stone fortress on the
Penobscot River. It was open for anyone to wander through but totally
lacking any interpretive assistance.
     The only sign warned that a flashlight "might" be necessary, which
it is, because parts of the interior galleries, magazines and so forth
are black as the Earl of Hell's riding boots.
     But there was *nothing* about when the fort was built or when it was
abandoned. From the fact that there were a couple of bottle-shaped
Dahlgren guns mounted on the parapets, I assumed the era was Civil War.
But the place is *so* big, and *so* beautifully built that it must have
taken years to construct.
     Did anybody up there Down East really believe us Suthruns could
mount any sort of serious attack up Bath way?
     Local residents were vague about the fort, and I haven't been able
to find out anything from the state parks department--calls are not
returned.
     Anybody out there familiar with the place?

     Hank Burchard * [log in to unmask] * Washington DC