Posts Tagged ‘Abandoned Forts’

Season Finale – The Abandoned Fort Dearborn

Posted: October 18, 2023 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Forts, abandoned home, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned military bases, abandoned new england, Abandoned New Hampshire, Abandoned New York, Abandoned Park, Abandoned Pennsylvania, Abandoned Places, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned Road, Abandoned Tower, Abandoned Tunnel, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Vermont, Abandoned Wonders, Art, Birds, Broken, Closed, darkness, Death, Destruction, dreams, empty, Exploration, fantasy, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, Fortress, Forts, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, Information, left behind, lost, Manchester, Massachusetts, Military, Military Forts, Movies, Mystery, nature, Navy, new england, New Hampshire, nightmares, Ocean, Ocean View, photography, Preserved Ruin, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, War, writing, WWII
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Season Finale

The Abandoned Fort Dearborn

Written by: Wilk

Photographs by: Lassie

Who here enjoys a good television show? It’s kind of a weird question to ask these days with all the strikes going on. But I know that most of us out there all have our preferred shows to watch. It’s Cobra Kai and Andor for me. I remember as a kid, before streaming services and DVR’s, my Grandmother had to take a break everyday at 2pm sharp to watch “Her Stories” on CBS. But what would our favorite shows be without a good finale? It gets us excited for what comes next. Like Game of Thrones (Season 1), Dexter (Season 4), or Lost (Season 3). If I missed any of your favorites, please feel free to shout them out in the comments. Here at Abandoned Wonders, we’ve had one of the best seasons we’ve ever had. We’ve explored abandoned zoos, hiked to lost plane crashes, and trekked deep into the mountains in search of the illusive JME House. It’s been quite a year, to say the least. But now, the year is beginning to wind down and this will serve as our grand finale of the 2023 season. Last quarter, we finally made the trek back up to New Hampshire. And since that piece gained such a big response, we decided to return to the White Mountain State for one last hurrah. So here it is, let’s all learn about the abandoned Fort Dearborn.

Located just across the bay of the Piscataqua River from the likewise abandoned Fort Stark, Fort Dearborn has a much shorter and significantly more checkered history. Up until the dawning of World War II, this land was once privately owned affluent beachfront property. But when the shadows of war crept onto the eastern seaboard, the US government felt forced to act. The land was taken over via the always controversial law of “Eminent Domain,” which if you’re not familiar basically states that the government can buy your land from you for it’s base worth and evict you from it without you having any say in the matter. Once the land was cleared of inhabitants, Fort Dearborn was established. It had a small garrison and was championed to by major defense batteries. But hope save us, The War to End all Wars never reached the eastern American coastline. And in 1948, the US Government decommissioned Fort Dearborn and gifted it to the state of New Hampshire. Once again, in controversial fashion, the land’s previous owners were not given the opportunity to purchase the property back. Over the years, the young military fort fell into dissrepair, and its remains currently reside on the far outskirts of Odiorne Point State Park.

And so, as the leaves began to fall, we made our way up north once again to the proud state of New Hampshire. As a lifelong resident of Connecticut, it’s always a culture shock for me going up there. Alcohol is sold pretty much exclusively from state run establishments. There’s toll roads all over the place. No sales tax. But what honestly flabbergasts me the most is that air is not free at petrol stations. I stopped for some on the way back from our last trip, and the attendant honestly looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him to turn the air on. How weird is that? As I mentioned to you earlier, the remains of the fort lie deep in the woods of Odiorne State Park. The park, much to our surprise was quite jumping when we arrived. Children played on the colorful playground. Old folks perused the soggy beach. Gulls cawed furiously in the ocean breeze. But the deeper we got into the woods, the quieter things became. When an abandoned place such as this resides in a popular state park, this is usually how things go. Still, we honestly weren’t sure how much we were going to find out there. We walked in relative silence under a light mist until, at long last, we finally found ourselves totally alone in a silent wooded area.

The abandoned batteries of Fort Dearborn loom out of the woods like great concrete titans. Battery Dearborn is the first to greet you with Fort Seamen farther down the line. Each is nearly identical in structure, with a wide entrance in the middle giving way to a great open space. If you look closely, you can still make out the names of each branded across their hulls. The two are a good quarter of a mile apart and are connected by a long filled-in tunnel system. The entrances to these tunnels are blocked by rusty metal gates that are shored up by plenty of concrete blocks and other debris. There are several ways to peak inside though. Trespassers are clearly not welcome. With a good pair of shoes, you can climb the steep slope to the top of each battery. There, you are treated with a wonderful view of the Atlantic seacoast that this old warhorse once watched over. There are a pair of pillboxes located in proximity to each battery. Both are just concrete hollowed out shells that have been plastered in vibrant graffiti. But still, they are pretty cool to check out. Hanging out in there kind of made us feel like kids again, playing Army out in the woods. Even during this time of year, though, there were mosquitos bloody everywhere.

I honestly would recommend a visit to Fort Dearborn if you’re up for an adventure in the White Mountain State. There honestly isn’t too much to see here, but the grounds themselves are much more rugged and frankly much more interesting than those of her counterpart Fort Stark. While Stark was an old war hero who served the nation for centuries, the land that Dearborn is on was basically swindled from it owners, converted to what turned out to be unnecessary military purposes, and then left to rot in the middle of the woods. It is a story that is hard to believe and even harder to forget. But does it live up to the hype of a strong season finale? Well, that’s for you the reader to decide. And while I’ve got your attention, we have a special announcement for all of our readers here. 2024 will mark ten years of Abandoned Wonders! It’s crazy how fast time flies. Thank you so much to everyone who has been along with us for this crazy ride. We’ve covered over 100 abandoned places across seven states and we’re still going strong. We’re not quite sure what we’ll be doing to celebrate or what the plan is yet. But expect to see us back in some way sometime soon. What will we be up to? Well, you’ll just have to tune in next season.

War & Pieces – The Abandoned Fort Stark

Posted: August 23, 2023 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Forts, Abandoned Island, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned military bases, abandoned new england, Abandoned New Hampshire, Abandoned New York, Abandoned Park, Abandoned Pennsylvania, Abandoned Places, Abandoned Prison, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned Tower, Abandoned Tunnel, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Vermont, Abandoned Wonders, Art, Beaches, Broken, Closed, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, Forgotten, Fort Wetherill, Fortress, Forts, Haunting, Hiking, History, Information, left behind, lost, Military, Military Forts, Movies, Mystery, nature, Navy, new england, New Hampshire, Ocean, Ocean View, photography, Preserved Ruin, Public Parks, research, Ruins, seaside, Stories, time, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing, WWI, WWII
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War & Pieces

The Abandoned Fort Stark

Written by: Wilk

Photographs by: Lassie

Hello, New Hampshire. It’s been a long time. Three years, in fact. A lot has changed. The global pandemic has mostly come to an end. We’ve grown a bit older. The summer has become hotter. Things aren’t what they used to be. This year has been a crazy one for us for a lot of reasons. And that has honestly been reflected in the kind of places we’ve been exploring. Due to some career changes, both Lassie and myself found ourselves having almost the entire summer off. Something we haven’t really ever experienced before as grown adults. With no school to teach during the summer for her, and SAG-AFTRA on strike for me, we found ourselves with quite a bit of free time these last few weeks. So this has been what we have come to call “The Summer of Madness.” There’s been a lot of spontaneity. There’s been a lot of fun. But most of all, there’s been a lot of traveling. Places we’ve never seen before. Places we’ve always wanted to see. And some places that we haven’t been to in a long time. And that’s where The White Mountain State comes in. If you look at our treasure map here on our site, New Hampshire is the one state here in New England that has only one place on it. Well, this summer, we chose to finally change that.

And so, if you please, allow me to introduce to you the latest addition to the Abandoned Wonders family – the abandoned Fort Stark. Located on the far eastern side of New Castle, New Hampshire, this old warhorse has a long history. Named after local colonial war hero General John Stark, the fort has served a small role in each of The United States of America’s great military struggles. But her purpose has always been clear: defend the Portsmouth Navy Yard and the strategically valuable Piscataqua River. Garrisons and guns crewed the fort during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. But strangely enough, despite her decorated line of service, she never saw combat. I suppose we should all be thankful for that, in one way or another. As the tides of war turned cold, the watchful guardian Fort Stark was deactivated in 1948. Her main guns found new homes in more hostile parts of the world and the grounds were turned over to the US Navy. Though they spent some time as a training center for reserve forces, the fort’s fate was more or less sealed. In 1983, the state of New Hampshire took control of the grounds and the once great Fort Stark was no more.

And so in the waning days of summer 2023, we had yet another spontaneous trip. On a Sunday afternoon we randomly got an invite to visit some family up north, and two hours later we were in New Hampshire. Believe it or not, abandoned places are rather scarce up in The White Mountain State. There are plenty of abandoned farm houses and factories lost to the wilderness. But few of these places have a story. And if you know anything about us here at Abandoned Wonders, it’s all about the story for us. We chose this place because it’s honestly been a long time since we covered anything military related. Having seen so many Nike Missile Sites during our early years, military stuff just got boring after a while. We figured now was a good time to revisit the subject. So, with a couple family members tagging along with us, we set out on our trek to the abandoned Fort Stark. On our drive over, we just happened to pass by the legendary “Alcatraz of the East”; aka the abandoned Portsmouth Naval Prison. Haunting in her majestic beauty, we may be coming back this way someday to see her more up close. We’ll see…Anyway, the remains of the fort sit right alongside a moderately trafficked beach and recreational area.

There is no long hike or hunt for this one. Much like many other abandoned coastal artillery sites that have been converted to recreational areas, you just drive up to the parking lot and there’s your target. When the state took control of the grounds, Fort Stark was modified just enough to make it safe for the public. So basically the only things left are those that were too expensive to demolish. At the center of the grounds is the old Harbor Entrance Control Base, installed prior to World War II. It is an austere layered building with a grim white paint job. The main battery sites, Battery Hunter and Battery Lytle, sit on either side of the base. Each is in a varying state of decay and has a pillbox-style lookout post at the top. While most of Fort Stark is fenced off, these fences honestly don’t do much. Almost every single one has a gaping hole in it, making the fort completely accessible. Strangely enough, wherever there is a whole in the fence, one of the fort’s heavy steel doors is often busted open. There are multiple dark passageways leading deep into the underbelly of the old base. Some rooms still have their unique features, such as a brick fireplace, left behind. Other are simply black voids or passageways leading to nowhere.

In all honesty, there is not too much to see here. Unless you’re a military history buff, I honestly wouldn’t recommend a visit to Fort Stark. Though the tunnels are quite interesting and certain areas of the fort are well preserved, this place is sadly a shadow of its former self. Leo Tolstoy once famously said, “the strongest of all warriors are these two: Time and Patience.” And while the cruel hands of time have regrettably run roughshod over the fortress, her patience has paid off. Though she never saw combat, Fort Stark clearly served her purpose with honor and dignity. The grounds may be crumbling, but the people she once protected now get to enjoy her beaches with their families and friends. The concept of war may never change, but the ways in which we fight it continue to evolve. In the days of nuclear arsenals and cyber-warfare, places like Fort Stark have more or less outlived their purpose. Her days of standing guard and keeping a weather eye on the horizon are over. Rest now, fallen soldier. You stood without fear in the face of countless enemies. You defended the gates of New England during all times of war. You followed any and all orders you were given with the utmost loyalty. And for that, we salute you.

Top 5 Abandoned Places to Visit this Summer

Posted: February 3, 2017 by kingleser in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Cabin, Abandoned Cape Cod, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Forts, Abandoned Hospital, Abandoned House, Abandoned Massachusetts, abandoned military bases, abandoned new england, Abandoned Rhode Island, Abandoned Sanatorium, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Bates Motel, Beaches, Cape Cod, Children's Hospital, Connecticut, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, Forgotten, Fort Wetherill, Fortress, Forts, Hiking, History, Massachusetts, Military, Military Forts, Movies, Mystery, Napatree Point, new england, Ocean, Ocean View, photography, Public Parks, Rhode Island, Ruins, Seaside Sanatorium, State Parks, Stories, Truro, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, Waterford, writing
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Winter sucks. I mean it really sucks sometimes. Especially if you live here in New England. One day it will be fifty degrees out. The next day there will be a foot of snow on the ground. Hooray. Things can be a bit unpredictable. As such, we usually slow down a bit on our adventures during the winter. When you’re exploring a place that you really aren’t supposed to be at, leaving footprints in the snow is never a good idea. Plus most of these places get really cold during the winter time. So, since we don’t really have anything new for you guys right now, it’s time to look ahead. Sitting here, with a few inches of snow on the ground outside, here are the Top 5 Abandoned Places to Visit this Summer.

#5 – Seaside Sanatorium, Waterford, Connecticut

We talk about Seaside Sanatorium a lot on here. But it really is a cool place. Sitting pretty right on the lovely Long Island Sound, this place has changed quite a bit over the years. Built in the early 1920’s, this massive hospital has seen a lot. It was regrettably closed in the 1990’s, and has declined ever since. Due to its status as a National Park, it is heavily frequented by beach-goers. Yet none of them seem to pay attention to this place. In our most recent visit, fences and major construction has taken over Seaside Sanatorium. Though round the clock security guards protect the abandoned asylum, it is still a beautiful sight to see.

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#4 – Bates Motel, Truro, Massachusetts 

Is it really called Bates Motel? We don’t know. Hell, nobody seems to know. That is just the moniker that this mysterious abandoned motel has earned due to its similarity to the legendary locale from Psycho. We love this place because it is just so mysterious. Located in a flourishing beach-side community, Bates Motel is a creepy and ramshackle relic of days gone by. The sun shines brightly overheard, and the beautiful blue ocean stands at her back. Yet she remains quiet as a tomb. In recent years, it has diminished greatly. Yet she still stands, waiting for something that will never come.

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#3 – Fort Mansfield, Watch Hill, Rhode Island

This one is a bit of a hike. It really is a pain in the ass to find, especially if the wind is blowing. Its about a mile down Nappatree Point, hidden amongst a bird sanctuary. But if you can find it, this old coastal fortress really is something special. Hidden amongst the sea grass and wild vegetation lies the remains of Fort Mansfield. Due to a fatal flaw in her design, she was deemed unfit for use by the military and eventually retired. It is quite similar to her cousin Fort Wetherill, which we’ll get to. But Fort Mansfield is far more desolate and much more isolated. What’s left makes for a very cool and unique adventure, if you can brave the long walk down the sandy beach.

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#2 – North Truro Air Force Station, Truro, Massachusetts

Yes, another great place to visit on Cape Cod. It may be one of the most picturesque parts of New England, but it has its share of secrets. And one of the best kept ones is this abandoned military base. It is the largest place on this list, and completely legal to visit. Left empty since the nineties, this old Cold War base is now nothing more than a ghost town. Dozens of old houses still stand. The old helipad is still there. The baseball field is now wild and overgrown. There is so much to see here. We literally spent an entire day exploring this place, taking hundreds of photos. It really is that awesome.

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#1 – Fort Wetherill, Jamestown, Rhode Island

Our piece that wrote on this place is still the most popular one we have ever written. And for good reason. Fort Wetherill really is a magical place. Sitting right outside the luxurious community of Newport, Rhode Island, this abandoned fortress sits right at the edge of the sea. It is certainly one of the toughest abandoned places we have ever visited, in the sense that this place has been through a lot and still stands. It is completely legal to visit, and unfortunately many vandals take advantage of that. But her graffiti covered exterior just makes this place that much more hauntingly beautiful.

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And that’s our list! Did we miss any out? Are there any cool places in New England that you plan on visiting this summer? Let us know in the comments. Likes, shares, and such are always appreciated!

The Changing of the Guard — Hiking Manchester’s Former Nike Base

Posted: February 17, 2015 by Hidden Wonders Photography in #postaday, Abandoned, Abandoned Attractions, Abandoned Baseball Field, Abandoned Business, Abandoned Connecticut, Abandoned Forts, abandoned military bases, abandoned new england, Abandoned USA, Abandoned Wonders, Birds, Bolton, Broken, Children, Closed, commercial, Connecticut, darkness, Death, Destruction, empty, Exploration, exploring the abandoned, fire, for sale, Forgotten, forgotten beauty, Fortress, Forts, Ghosts, Graveyard, Haunting, Hiking, History, Homeless, House, Information, left behind, lost, Manchester, Manchester CT, Military, Military Forts, Movies, Mystery, nature, new england, nightmares, Nike Missile Base, overgrown, photography, Public Parks, research, Ruins, Safety First, Searching, State Parks, Stories, The Walking Dead, Uncategorized, Urban Decay, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploring, Urbex, writing
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The Changing of the Guard

Hiking Manchester’s Former Nike Base

Written by: Sean L.

Photographs by: Amanda H.

We have visited quite a few former military installations across New England over the last few years. Most people find it hard to believe that there are so many sites out there left abandoned by the military, but they are out there. You just have to look a little harder for them. Some are simply hiding right under the public’s noses. We have covered abandoned coastal fortresses in Rhode Island, deserted Air Force bases in Massachusetts, and of course the decaying Nike Missile bases in Connecticut. Here in our home in the Nutmeg state, the Nike Missile bases are some of the more iconic and well known abandoned places. We have explored most of the Nike Missile bases that are still standing across the state. Most have become lost and forgotten sites, falling victims to nature’s fury and mankind’s neglect. But a few of these sites have found salvation through resurrection.

During the most vicious years of the Cold War, there were at one time hundreds of Nike Missile sites all over the country. Some of these bases were even established in Europe. There were at least twelve known in the state of Connecticut. Most of these sites were coastal or along the Connecticut River. Others were in place as a defense for the city of Hartford. First established in 1945 as a project for the US Army, the Nike Missile sites were created as a new form of defense against aerial attacks on the United States homeland. By the mid-1950’s, there were sites in almost every state in the union. But also around this time, technology began to develop. The Army was moving forward with more advanced forms of missile defense, and Nike slowly became obsolete. It wasn’t long until the project came to end.

With most sites being a part of active military bases, their shutdown was not a big deal. Some shutdown sites were demolished. Others were donated. But a few were simply left to rot. See our write-up on Portland’s Nike Missile base here (https://abandonedwonders.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/sound-the-bugle/). On an early spring weekend, we decided to visit another former Nike Missile base in Manchester, Connecticut. The base was in operation between the years of 1956-1961. When the site was decommissioned by the United States military in the early 1960’s, the site was returned to the town of Manchester. Over the next few years, the town began to make use of the property by turning it into a recreational area. All of the missile launch pads have been removed, and most of the old buildings are still standing. The site is known today as the Nike Site Recreation Area.

Finding the site is no problem. Just google it. It is in close proximity to a few nicer residential neighborhoods in Manchester, not too far from the Glastonbury town line. A large and well maintained sign will welcome you to the area, as opposed to the armed guards that once protected this place. When entering the park, the main road will take you right into the heart of the former base. All of the buildings still stand, and there is ample parking. Though most of the buildings appear to be abandoned, they are not. One of the older buildings has been converted into ballet studio. Another one is now a preschool/daycare, with a brightly colored playground outside. All of the other buildings appear to be used just for storage. One is rumored to be a shooting range, but we found no such evidence to confirm this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though they are still in use, the buildings all look abandoned. A lot of the windows are boarded up and they are not in the best of shape. One building even has white hand prints scattered all along its outer wall, though we would guess this is from the preschool from across the lot. Standing right behind the old buildings is a baseball diamond. Though it was not in use while we there, it is clearly maintained. There were actually a good number of people here when we visited, but they were all congregated in the main area of the base. In order to get a real glimpse of the former site, you have to do some walking. There are a clear line of trails throughout the park. While following the main trail further into the base the old overgrown chain link fences can be seen, still protecting the grounds.

Following the trails into the base, the old access roads into the missile site can still be seen. We followed them through the fences and further into the woods, leading to a large clearing with large power lines overhead. This is where the missile launch pads were once located, remnants of them can still be seen. Continuing down the trail, we found the three former missile platforms. Each of these is a large cement foundation with a rusty metal blast plate attached, used to protect the concrete from the rocket’s heat. Alongside of these, there are several collapsed ruins that were once small buildings. Scattered amongst the site were random items such as old tires, cement markers, and old telephone lines. Closer to the main grounds of the base, there is the old water pump station. A large blue tank stands beside an old cement building. Both have become very rusted and covered in graffiti. 

Though the site is designated as a recreational area, it clearly has its share of secrets. We found one small underground bunker that we were able to get into, though it was merely a small electrical duct. Mixed amongst the trees, the old wire system can still be seen. We even curiously found a large area of the grounds that was literally coated in broken glass sitting beside a dying fire pit. Either the Terminator has recently returned from the future, or this place has a vandal problem. Unfortunately, it will not be long before all of these ruins disappear. Though the remnants of this place’s past are slowly fading away, there are still reminders everywhere of what it once was. The Manchester Nike Missile Base may have swapped its garrison of soldiers for children and tiny ballerinas, but the ghosts of the Cold War still haunt these wooded grounds.

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