On April 13, 1899, President McKinley named the one-time subpost of Fort Preble, Cape Elizabeth’s first military fortification, Fort Williams. Named after Brevet Major General Seth Williams, Fort Williams grew to be a tremendous military asset during World War II. Besides protecting the shoreline of Cape Elizabeth, the infantry and artillery units provided the Harbor Defense for Portland. After the war, many of the forts in Casco Bay were closed, including Fort Williams, which traded in its defense of the coast for caretaker status and Army Reserve accommodations. Fort Williams was officially closed and deactivated on June 30, 1963. (from Cape Elizabeth’s web site)
Today, Fort Williams is still one of the most treasured sites of Cape Elizabeth. Home to the oldest lighthouse in Maine, Portland Head Light.
As I made my way back to Fort Williams and Portland Head Light the bright blue skies faded and the wind began to blow. There’s be no sunset shots tonight. The predicted storm was on its way.
While I was out chasing the other lighthouses the tide had gone out so there wasn’t much surf even with the wind. But I was there and intended to make the most of it. I would stay until one of 3 things happened
- It got too dark to see what I was doing
- It started to rain
- or until I got a good shot of the lighthouse
I’m happy to report that I didn’t have to stay until full dark and I didn’t get rained on. Did I get the shot? Well I’ll let you be the judge.
