Fort George (Brunswick, Maine)

Fort George was a colonial era fort, erected in 1715, that was located in Brunswick, when Maine was under jurisdiction of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

History
Fort George was built in 1715 by Captain John Gyles in Brunswick. The fort was 3 ft underground with a 3 ft wall base, standing at least 10 ft high above ground, laid with lime mortar. The barracks housed fifteen men. A large two-story dwelling house, appearing above the walls, made living possible. The range of its cannon protected the dwellings within their reach. During Father Rale's War, the inhabitants of Brunswick were hospitably gathered within the refuge. Many times this hospitality was strained to its most generous capacity as the onslaughts of Indian attacks were incessant. The most significant attack was when the fort was under siege during the early days of Father Rale's War (1722).

In 1736, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts decided to dismantle Fort George, which would ultimately leave the town vulnerable to Indian attacks. An earnest supplication, from the people, was sent to Gov. Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts, begging to have the fort remain. A petition was then signed by twenty Brunswick families and twenty Topsham families, at the Brunswick meeting house on April 25, 1737. All to no avail, the state legislature was deaf to the appeal and proceeded to have the fort dismantled. The order was effective immediately, and the property was to revert to the proprietors.

At a meeting of the Penobscot proprietors held October 8, 1761, a deed was executed to split the land between Jeremiah Moulton and Captain David Dunning. On November 19, 1761, a written order was given to surrender the fort and buildings to either Moulton or Dunning according to the Penobscot Papers.

The ruins of this historical fort were standing until 1802.