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Portsmouth Lighthouse in Newcastle, New Hampshire may be known by a variety of names, but few people are aware that the lighthouse sits on one of the most historically important locations of United States history.
Although the United States Coast Guard has recently restored the lighthouse, the historic sites that adjoin the lighthouse, which are owned by the State of New Hampshire, have been allowed to fall into a state of ruin.
Since no one else seems to care, Tim Harrison, president of the American Lighthouse Foundation, the non-profit group which is now the caretaker of the lighthouse, says that apparently the American Lighthouse Foundation will have to take the lead in drawing public attention to the deplorable condition of the historic area.
Harrison recently made his case public on Channel 9 TV in New Hampshire, in what was supposed to have been a segment about why lighthouses are more important to the 4th of July than picnics and parades. However, it turned into “what a shame it is that this beautifully restored lighthouse adjoins such a neglected historic site—what would our forefathers think?”
Prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Paul Revere made his first and less famous ride to warn the colonists that the British were coming to reinforce Fort William and Mary on the shores of Portsmouth Harbor. The colonists banded together, and in a surprise raid, seized the fort and absconded with the gunpowder. This was the first overt act of the Revolutionary War. The colonists later used this gunpowder at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
After the Revolutionary War was over, the new government of the United States of America renamed Fort William and Mary to Fort Constitution. Eventually, the property was turned over to the State of New Hampshire, which has literally let the fort fall into ruins.
The area is also the site of Walbach Towers, one of several fortifications built along the Atlantic coastline during the War of 1812. General John de Barth Walbach, who become second in command of all New England Seacoast defenses, built these towers, and, at the age of 93, was the oldest General in the history of the United States Army. The towers, also in ruin, can barely be seen by the public because growth that has obscured them.
This story appeared in the August 2000 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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