Fort Strong
Fort Strong is a historic site in Massachusetts, at a modelled elevation of 24 m. Wampatuck Hill stands 103 m to the south-southwest, 8.2 miles off. The nearest named place is Long Island Head, a cliff less than a tenth of a mile away. Revolutionary Heritage Byway passes 5.7 miles off.
The story
Fort Strong is a former U.S. Army Coast Artillery fort that occupied the northern third of Long Island in the Boston Harbor. The island had a training camp during the American Civil War, and a gun battery was built there in the 1870s. The fort was built in 1893-1906 during the Endicott period of expansion in U.S. coast defense, and was part of the Coast (later Harbor) Defenses of Boston. Formerly, it was also known as Long Island Military Reservation. Before World War I, a large station for handling submarine mines was added to the fort's defenses. Prior to World War I the fort was probably manned by over 1,000 soldiers. During World War II, two batteries of 3-inch guns (Basinger and Stevens) defended channel minefields, but the big guns and other 3-inch batteries (except for the AA guns) were decommissioned. Declared surplus in 1947, the fort served as a Nike missile site until 1961, and was redeveloped in 2005-2009 for a children's summer camp and later a homeless shelter. However, in 2014 the island's bridge was demolished due to safety concerns, and all activity ended.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1899.
Wikidata Q5472138, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 5.7 mi off the Revolutionary Heritage Byway, National
- 11.1 mi off the Battle Road Scenic Byway, National
- 22.7 mi off the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway
Overlooks nearby
- Skywalk Observatory · 7 mi
- Eagle Rock · 24 mi
- Sunset Ledge · 25 mi
- Lookout Point · 29 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Battery Drum: 0.0 mi
- Battery Hitchcock: 0.0 mi
- Battery Ward: 0.0 mi
- Battery Basinger: 0.0 mi
- Battery Smyth: 0.1 mi
- Long Island: 0.7 mi
- Gallops Island: 0.9 mi
- Rainsford Island: 1.3 mi
- Lovells Island: 1.4 mi
- Georges Island: 1.6 mi
- Yirrel Beach: 2.5 mi
- Hull Village Beach: 2.8 mi
- Corinha Beach: 3.1 mi
- Orchard Beach: 3.4 mi
- Pleasure Bay Beach: 3.4 mi
- Windmill Point Boathouse: 2.6 mi
- Hull Lifesaving Museum: 3.3 mi
- Winthrop Public Library and Museum: 3.6 mi
- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: 4.1 mi
- Commonwealth Museum: 4.2 mi
- Cottage Hill: 2.7 mi
- Telegraph Hill: 3.1 mi
- Allerton Hill: 3.9 mi
- Telegraph Hill: 4.6 mi
- Camp Hill: 4.7 mi
- Curci Studio 20 Madison Avenue: 3.5 mi
- The Lone Sailor: 4.3 mi
- Fight the Rise: 4.6 mi
- Sunflowers for Vincent: 4.6 mi
- Rise: 4.6 mi
- Albert 'Junior' Lombardi Garden: 4.7 mi
- Columbia Point Community Garden: 4.7 mi
- Joseph Ciampa Community Garden: 4.8 mi
- SeaCoast Community Garden: 4.8 mi
- Eastie Farm: 4.9 mi
- Quincy Shore Reservation: 4.9 mi
- The Graves: 5.1 mi
- Furnace Brook Parkway: 5.1 mi
- Furnace Brook Parkway: 5.5 mi
- Bouve Conservation Area: 5.5 mi
- Hood Milk Bottle: 5.0 mi
- Boston Wharf Co. Sign: 5.1 mi
- The Eleanor: 5.1 mi
- The Beaver: 5.1 mi
- Waterboat Duck House: 5.2 mi
- Long Island Head: 0.0 mi
- West Head: 1.7 mi
- Pererea Point: 2.3 mi
- Moon Head: 2.3 mi
- East Head: 2.5 mi
- Babcock Arboretum: 5.0 mi
- Pine Knoll: 7.0 mi
- Nature's Pavilion: 7.0 mi
- Oak Lea: 7.1 mi
- Stella Tirrell Picnic Area: 10.9 mi
- Boathouse: 3.3 mi
- Keeper's Dwelling: 3.3 mi
- Oil Shed: 3.3 mi
- Rainshed: 3.4 mi
- Boston Light: 3.4 mi
- Commissioners Landing: 6.3 mi
- Westwood Rest Area: 12.9 mi
- State Route 3 Parking Area Northbound: 17.1 mi
- State Route 3 Parking Area Southbound: 17.1 mi
- Rock Falls: 9.3 mi
- Cascade Falls: 10.1 mi
- Pakomet Spring: 10.1 mi
- Quarry Spring: 10.6 mi
- Haywardville: 11.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 8.4 miles of Fort Strong. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wampatuck Hill | SSW 213° | 103 m | 8.2 mi |
| Fox Hill | SW 215° | 95 m | 8.4 mi |
| Rattlesnake Hill | SSW 212° | 90 m | 8.0 mi |
| Pine Hill | SSW 208° | 74 m | 7.9 mi |
| The Crags | SSW 214° | 71 m | 7.9 mi |
| Great Dome | SW 217° | 64 m | 8.0 mi |
| Parker Hill | W 270° | 62 m | 7.6 mi |
| Penns Hill | SSW 197° | 61 m | 6.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:48 | 18:19 | 18:56 |
| June solstice | 05:08 | 19:42 | 20:25 |
| September equinox | 06:32 | 18:06 | 18:43 |
| December solstice | 07:10 | 15:29 | 16:15 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 30 | 32 | 38 | 49 | 58 | 68 | 74 | 73 | 66 | 55 | 45 | 36 |
| Precip in | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Boston, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/1148222790
Day trips start here
- Boston Harbor Islands · 1 mi
- Hull · 3 mi
- Winthrop · 3 mi
- Boston · 5 mi
- Boston/Dorchester · 5 mi
- Boston/East Boston · 5 mi
Take the scenic way to Fort Strong.
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