"From 1891 to 1965, Fort Banks, named after Nathaniel P. Banks, Governor and Civil War General, served as part of our coastal defense system. Fearing attack by newly designed battleships built in the Spanish American war era, the government installed sixteen mortars mounted in four pits which could fire 12” shells in an arc 9 miles to sea. Excavated Mortar Pit B remains. Anti-aircraft equipment was added later when Fort Banks was designated command center for Boston Harbor, it housed the Army’s 9th Coastal Artillery Regiment and a 250 bed hospital. To react to the 1950’s nuclear threat, this fort and nearby Ft. Heath became radar centers for the North Atlantic Nike defense system." |
