HomeMy WebLinkAboutWE-3HISTORIC AND NATURAL DISTRICTS
INVENTORY FORM
DIVISION FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION
NEW YORK STATE PARKS AND RECREATION
ALBANY, NEW YORK (518) 4744)479
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
UNIQUE SITE NO.
QUAD
SERIES
NEG. NO.
YOUR NAME: Town of $outhold/SPLIA
DATE: March 1988
YOUR ADDRESS: Town Hall, Main Rd. TELEPHONE:. 516 765 1892
Southold LI NY 11971
ORGANIZATION (if any): Southold. Town Community Development Office
1. NAME OF DISTRICT: Fort H.G. Wright, Fishers Island
2. COUNTY: Suffolk
TOWN/CITY: Southold
VILLAGE: Fishers Island
3. DESCRIPTION:
The largest concentration of military buildings at Fort H.G. Wright
remain on the west end of Fishers Island, SW of Hay Harbor. This
area is bounded by water on 3 sides, to the N, S, and W. A small
residential area is located to the N, and an air field covers
the site to the S.
Remnants of fortifications exist on Wilderness Point and blount
Prospect.
4. SIGNIFICANCE:
Fort H.G. Wright was named for General Horatio G. Wright, a Civil
War commander and the Chief' of Army Engineers from 1879-1884.
Originally comprised of 33fi acres, the fortifications were
established in 1898 to provide defense in the Spanish-American
War. Fort H.G. Wright became an integral part of the coastal
fortifications intended to protect New York, New Haven, and
Providence from foreign attack during WWI and WWII. The largest of
these coastal fortifications, Fort H.G. Wright became the operations
center for the Harbor Defense of Long Island Sound. By WWII, the
Harbor Entrance Command Post was established on Mount Prospect,
Fishers Island. Gun batteries and sighting towers located throughout
the waters of L.I. Sound communicated with this centralized station.
5. MAP: fort H.G. Wright was determined inactive in 1949.
NYS DOT New London quad
HP-2
6. SOURCES:
Fishers Island, A Book of Memories, by James and Joanne Wall, 1982. pp. 1.~,--%g5.
Headquarters, First United States Army, Information Section, Release
No. 15-58, January 14, 1958.
Post Map, Fort H.G. Wright, 20 October 1948, Coll. H.L. Ferguson Museum.
Fishers Island, Its History and Development, F.E. Hine, 1907.
7. THREATS TO AREA:
BY ZONING [] BY ROADS [] BY DEVELOPERS []
BY DETERIORATION [] OTHER
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Many of the Officers' Quarters and related structures shown on
accompanying map dated 20 October 1948 are in use as private res-
idences and are well preserved. Many of the larger buildings to the
west are unoccupied and deteriorated.
8. LOCAL ATTITUDES TOWARD THE AREA:
Development as a park, hotel, residential housing, or other compatible
use has been discussed.
9 PHOTOS:
For photographs see' forms WE-3a-3e.
Form prepared by ~urt 17ahofer, research assistant.
Fort H.G. Wright WE-3
Fishers Island
S
~40 000 FEET
BLOCK ISLAND
;50o~m.£. 1
~oSOUAz,D ,~ ] ~sooco FEE
I .... 41'15'
751o~.[' 72'oo'
NYS DOT New London quad
Approximate fort boundaries indicated by circles.
The
It Was...
100 Yeat algo
From the Star, June 9. 1888
Gov. Hill of New York has signed a bill abolishing hanK~ng lot all
murders committed after Jan. 1. 1889. and submitting death by
electricity thereafter.
Amagansett
Our whaling crews were off chasing a finback whale on M~.~day,
but were unable to get a chance to strike him as the mon'~tcr was
very wild.
A new Life-Saving Station is to be erected at Napcaguc.
the one recently erected at Georgica. Work s~ill be ct~mmcnccd
next month.
The Vienna journals announced the death of a peasant .~ Mora~ ia
aged 142 }cars.
The United States Government has leased of the Mcs'~rs.
about 300 acres of land near Race Point, Fishers' Island, for a rifle
range for target practice during the momhs of July, August. and Sep-
tember .... [t is stated that a sham battle will take place between
United States troops and thc North Atlantic Squadron. ~hcn the
latter is rendczv~ousing in Gardiner's Bay for gun practice.
Potts and 14azlett, who distinguished themselves once Ily ~,oing
through thc perilous Niagara whirlpool rapids in a small b.~rrcl, h.tvc
resolved to perform a much more dangerous feat, that of gumg over
the Niaga[a cataract in the little craft.
75 Years.4go
/9/3
From thc Star, June 6, 1913
"l ~acer's Arm"
Because there are too many books, theater parties, d,,gs and
gowns among their mistresses and an epidemic of "laccr's arm"
among maids, the latter will furm a new union in Chicagu .r affiliate
with the recently organized Household Workers' union.
The ~hookists" say that the"lacer's arm" is caused by the ,~pcratio~
Continued ~ }n II-4
Fort H.G. Wright WE-3
Fishers Island
Fort H.G. Wright
Fishers Island
WE-3
Fort H.G, Wright
Fishers Island
Fishers Island, frs History and Development, F,E. Hine, ]907.
Fort H.G. Wright
Fishers Island ~m mB~ On Fishers lsland, below~ab,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a,a~g~comraander'sste~tion
/ departure of two nea__~¢-inch ~u~ that overlooked The
Views of the Nike
station at Fort Tilden,
on Rock. away Point
~ a~daeri~
below ri~M. Ceili~j
o~ a hydraulic liJ~
miasile to the
surfa~ Two sets of
these doors are
visible in the view pum
the air. As each
rocket cams off the
elevator, it was
trund~ to oae of six
aear~ lauro~hin~
pad& Pictured at the
centec is pa~t of a
Nike Ajax and its
launcher o~ a
launch pa~ part ora
the New Yorie City
Parka Depart~rae~
MantauJe Point once carried shells frtrm matjazine&
behind doors at left, toward the daylight and two 16-inch
gun~ The well-practiced cannon fired a projectile the si~e of
a amall ear, but, history reeord~ ~ver at an enemy.
Rewsda¥, 2/1~/88.
WE-3
w~ 3
ColleCtion quffol~ Count~'Hie~orical Society.
Fort H. G. Wright, N. Y.
By Capt. F. S. Sw~tt, C. A. C.
G. WRIGHT, lq'. Y.. one of
:e-time homes of the "Big
fps," is located on Fishers
eastern end of Long I~land
,.miles from New London.
a-as first visited in 1614 by
igator, one Captain Adrian
~aving named the larger is-
further east after himself,
mored a companion of the
char. by naming th!s pre-
~ island after him. Fishers
)fy, however, was so named
i position in the early fishing
the present
tint at the
Ialand was
~ot Indians
ly occup:ed
vere driven
~y combined
he English,
and Narra-
:1 the great
fat time in
*rith later
te General
assachusetts
icut resulted
.isition by
hrop, Jr.,
i44 further
holding by
)roprietor
the Ind;an
With his
aually lived
',sland at [n-
~riods in a
h occupied
site of the
o u s e until
', when he
few London.
I legends in-
~suai trouble
,qth the Indians, although no
tinters occurred subs,.luent to
of the Pequots in 1637. Cap-.
he notorious pirate, operated
undlng waters during the late
dreds, and many a spadeful
been turned on Fishers Island
:h for his hidden loot. Being
Aland on F/McA This Post is Sit-
mated is Reputed Burial Ground
of Capt. Kidd's Treasure
the approach of an enemy on New Lon-
don. To quote, "and svhereas there is a
former order of council for the keeping
of a ward upon Fishers Island for the
discovery of an approaching enemy in
order to give a more timely notice to
New London by fixing one or two bea-
cons made on said !sland for that account
it is now ordered that the beacon made
Fort Wr~ht
on the west point of'Fishers Island shall
be fired upon discovery made from Mount
Prospect of one ship, or two other top-
sail vessels standing in towards said is-
land from the southard or northard of
Block Island or upon discovery of five
ships standing in from the southard or
five from the northard of Block Island,
pect Hill and North Hill afforded neces-
sat',/, tactical advantages and they were
added to the reservation. The post was
named after Brigadier Gmeral Horatio
Gouvernour Wright, a retired Ch'el oi
Engineers, who rendered distinguished
service to the Union in the Civil War.
Built at a cost of approximately eight
million dollars, it became the headquarters
post of the Coast Defenses oi Long Is-
land Sound. with Forts Terry. Michie,
Trumbull, Mansfield, and Tyler as units
in the command. The last three have since
beet[ abandoned.
To the man interested in the technical
work offered by the
"Big Gun Corps." the
Coast Artillery garrison
at Fort H. G. Wright
affords pecu',iar advan-
tages for detailed train-
ing in engineering and
art Ilery. As it is the
coas', and heavy artillery
training center for the
Firsl Corps .*rea and
[or the New York Na-
tional' Guard and the'
West Point Cadets. the
season presents a sched-
ule of in:cresting activi-
ties difficult to equal.
Seacoast guns and mor-
tars and anti-aircraft
guns are thundering
forth steel projectiles
each year /rom May to
October. ' The. regular
troops of the garrison
~_are assigued as instruc-
'lors to the '¢ar:ous or-
ganizations in training,
actually shooting large
calibre guns at rapidly
moving targets.
The post is neces-
sarily seli-reliant with
respect to its. electric
· power and telephone
systems, and practical working knowledge
is. obtained by the many-e, pen[tors under
actual conditions of service. Theoreti-
cal trainim/is greatly augmented by prac-
tical exper:ence.
Fort \Vright is happily s:tuated with
respect to facilities, for amusement. The
civilian portion of the island has in late
Fort H.G.~k~ght
Fishers Island
I{F~%DQUART~RS F~IST U.S. ARB"f
Information Section, Bldg. A-6
Governors Island, New York 4, N.Y.
Tel~ WHitehall 4-7700, Ext. 5156
RELEASE NO. 1~-58
14 January 1958
FOR IN~EDIATE RELEASE
LONG ISLAND'S
~ ~T~RN' SHIELD
GOVERNORS 1S;~ND, N.Y., 14 January....About 120m~les long,
with a~ area of 1';2~ square miles, Long Islmud, New York, has played
a vital historical role es one of ~orica's most heavily defended areas.
Geography has placed Long Island in a position of importance for
three metropolitan areas in throe states. Ever since New York, New Haven
and Providence became important to this country, Long Island and its
smaller islands have become militarily important to tho throe cities.
In tho outer ring of ~n elaborate defense system around thcso
three cities wore eight military installations which have boom vital
cogs in tho wheels of tho American defense effort, and a key to thc
changing weapons and missions in tho U.S. defense pattern.
Ro~ding from north to south those installations worc rich in
history, tradition and legend, and yet often ~own to thc rosidcnts
of tho mroa. In tho north, Fort Mc/mfiold, in Rhode Island, was 60
mcros in size. Fort Trumbull, Connoc$icut, had an area of 1~ acres,
2 rods, 27 polcs and 2 links according to thc records. Fort Michio,
on Groat Gull Island, had an ~roa of only 10 acres. Fort H.G. Wright,
thc "mother" for most of these posts h~d a total area of ~54 acres-
most of Fisohcrs Island. Fort Terry, on Plum Island, was tho l=rgost
of tho eight posts, totaling ?~7 acros~ Fort Tyler, on G~rdincrs
Point totals about 14 ~cros. Camp ~ikoff, which w~s in tho Fort Pond
area, had tho shortest life, but brief ~tional fame. Camp Hero, on
tho -mouth shore of Long Island at .Montauk Point was thc most mysterious,
tho most recently mctive post and tho most heavily camouflaged.
Fort Mansfield, situated on Napantroe Point, near Watch Hill,
Rhode Isl-nd, w~s part of an original coastal defense network of
Long Island a r~ Long Island Sound. Named in honor of Major General
J.F. ~m~efield, a veteran of tho %~r with Mexico and the Civil War,
tho fort was built during thc.period of public concern preceding tho
Spo.uish-AnerlcanWar of 1898. Recognizing the importance of coastal
defense guns at this point the federal government maintained the fort.
In tho early years of the First ~orld~ar the Army son~Fort Mansfield
~e largest coastal defense guns it had.
After ~orld War I, the federal government relmxed some of the vigil
~long the coasts, and Fort Mausfield was authorized for s~le on M~rch
East Hampton Free Library, file LL 207.
.~d' ISLAND'S EASTERN SHI~," WE-3
Fort H.G. Wright
Fishers Island
Fo~ H.G. Wright on Fischers Isled in the Block Isled Sold
co~ded the sound and ~ners Bay to the south. It w~s named in
honor of ~Jor ~ne=el Horatio G. ~ri~, = disti~ished Civil
c~der ~d Chief of ~ EnEi~ers ~om 1879-18~. T~ island h~s
~d ~eds of trees~e seekin~ ~sitors, for legend has it
~he no~orious Captain Kidd b~ted boo~y on Fls~ers Is~nd. To date
no one ~s fo~d ~y si~n of the ~re~ure.
· The str~te6ic impo~-n~e of the isl-~a ~s ~rst
in 17~ when ~ si~l beacon was erected on ~ospect Hill. The ~econ
~s designed to ~rn ~ city of New London of ~ enc~ a~=ck. In
1898 the federal ~er~ent p~c~scd = l~r~e tra~ of l~d on the
western ond of %he isl~.d fo~ cs~bl!s~cnt of coast defonse fcrtific~tions.
T~ cor~t~ction of Fe~ H,G..~ri~ht, which bcK~n with the ~rection
of thu ~ enplmcenents in 1898, cost the ~.6r~%nt a ~otal of about
8 million dollars. It bec~ the ho~dqu~ers of the Co~st ~fense
cf Lon~ Isl=ud, with Fcrta Terry, }2ichi~, T~mBull, H~sfield ~d Tyler
~ u~ts in the cc~nd.
Fo~ H.G. Uri~ht sewed ~s tho co~st ~nd hee~ artillery trainlr~
ce~er for ~ ~ Nation~l ~d U:~its ~d ~es~ Point Cadets. Of
~1 the install~tio~ within ~ho outer rin~ of metropolitan defenses,
Fo~ H.$. ~ri~ht wes t~ most self-s~fici~nt ~d bes~
The install=tion ~s equipped with its ~ electric power system
~d %olephone sys~m~ which ~s hockod ~to t~ "mainland" systs=.
The fo~ ~d its o~ fa~ ~nd its ~n tr=ns~5tiur system,
In 1949 Fo~ H.G. %Tri~h~ wa s formed inactive ~d w~s authorized
for solo. To date this valu=bl~ piece of prope~y ~s not been sold.
Fcrt Ter~, on ~1~ Islm%d, was ~ch bi~er th~ tho other
i~ta~attons. E~tablished in 1898 =~d nrmed in honor of ~Jo~ ~n~r=l
~frod H. Terry who co~dod Union ~rc~s ~r~ the Civil
th~ post w=s &~rrisoned by the Co~st ~il~ ~om t~ ~te of its
activation. ~rin~ t~ . ~mmer months ~its se~ to Fort H.G. ~ri~ht
wer. sent in ~rn to Fort Te~y for supplement~ry tr~i~n~ In the
tec~i~s of Co~t'~' Defenso operations.
A% the end of %Vorld ~ar II Fort Tsrry w~s tn~ctivated~
~s ~intain~d o~y by a s=ll c~ detac~c~ from Fo~ H.G.
Uri~. It re~ined on this .somi-~ctiv~ status ~til ~ftsr
~ar II when ~ miltt~y persor~%~l woro withdr~ frcm tho post ~
i$ was 10~ in the h~nds of = few civili~ carut~kers. In 195B~
how~v~, the A~ Chemic~ C.?rps took posessi[-n of the facilities
~d utilized them for research ~.nd testin~ purposos. In J~y of
19~4 the Ar~ turned over all its facilities to the Departm~t of
A~rio~%~e, w~ch ~d' contractual to ~gke c{ntrol of t~ res~ of
the isl~d =t the se= time. Th~ m~%i-~llion dollar ,~i~l Diso~se
L~bor=to~ Df th~ D~p~ent of AEriculture now occupiss ~11 of
F~s ~sl~d.
East Hampton Free Library, file LL 207.
A sampling of
structures, c,
1986 photos by
Sarah Malinowski.
Fort H.G. Wright
Fishers Island
WE-3
A sampling of struc-
tures, c. 1986 photos
by Sarah Malinowski.
I
A samplin'.; ol
1986 photus by
Sarah Malkno;~ski.
. H.G. Wright
~ers Island
t.' ..... ':~ ' ~ '"'. ?,.','~,,z..'.'.r~-'.
l
'1
WE-3
A sampling of
structures, c.
1986 photos by
Sarah blalinowski.
Non commissioned
officer~ qu~rters~ ,
Owned by Fishers
Island Ferry Dis-
,trict, housed N.Y.
State Police of-
fic.e~s in 1982.