Exploring ABANDONED Fort Gorges (Portland, ME) [feat. Tom from GoXplr]
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
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GoXplr Website: www.goxplr.com/
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The official theme song for my channel, “City of Steam”, was originally composed by my friend, Jesse Walsh! Check out the full song here on his CZcams channel: • [J-MASS THEME] City of...
On Hog Island Ledge, a small island off the coast of the city of Portland, Maine in the middle of the Casco Bay, sits the deteriorating ruins of an isolated Civil War-era fortification. Fort Gorges, named for Sir Ferdinando Gorges (founder of the Province of Maine in 1622), is an abandoned island fort only accessible by boat; however, there is no ferry service to the fort, meaning that one must utilize their own private vessel to reach it. Tom Riley from GoXplr and I decided to take out some kayaks from Bug Light Park in South Portland, boating across the choppy waters until we reached Hog Island Ledge and Fort Gorges itself. This isolated landmark is an iconic piece of Portland's rich and storied military history, making up one of many coastal harbor defenses scattered across the Casco Bay.
Construction of Fort Gorges first began in 1858, officially completing in 1865 towards the end of the American Civil War. Ironically, upon its completion, advancements in explosive warfare had modernized so much since it began that the fort was rendered obsolete and essentially unfit for military use as a fortification. By the Spanish-American War in 1898, all 34 10-inch Rodman guns mounted at Fort Gorges were scrapped and removed, leaving only a 300-pounder Parrott rifle (which still remains at the fort to this very day). Following this action, Fort Gorges was largely relegated to a storage facility of sorts to the military; by World War II, it was used to store submarine cables and mines. Following the war's end, in 1946, it was declared surplus, and by 1960, the City of Portland had acquired it. Ever since then, Fort Gorges has been open to the public, accessible to anyone with a boat.
Tom and I had wanted to visit Fort Gorges for many years now, and I am so excited that he was able to join me on this journey! I have explored many abandoned forts on this channel, but Fort Gorges was by far one of the coolest; this huge abandoned island fort was truly a unique urban exploration experience. With two levels of the fort, several rooms and hallways, and twists and turns at every path, Fort Gorges was like a mysterious labyrinth to navigate. This was one of the coolest ruins Maine had to offer, and I had a blast exploring it. Shout out to Tom Riley from GoXplr for joining me, and thank you for bringing those kayaks! If you guys liked this video, make sure to stay tuned for more exploration videos all across New England!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Go...
00:00 J-MASS Intro
00:41 Introduction to Fort Gorges
03:58 Entrance to the Fort
05:59 First Level of the Fort
29:07 Second Level of the Fort
37:11 Top of the Fort
44:09 Return to the First Level
49:09 Fort Gorges Exterior
51:46 Outro
55:08 Drone Shots
Such an amazing adventure and a great video! It was awesome getting to join you on this trip. Excited to finally have checked Fort Gorges off my list! 🗺️✅
Thank you so much for joining me on this trip (and for providing the kayaks to get there)! Fort Gorges was a wicked cool place to explore! Many more to come soon! 🔥
@@j-mass I grew up on Munjoy Hill across the water from this place... When i was a kid i called it "Castle Greyskull". (From He-Man)
*this was the early 80's. I'm 44.
**fun fact: A woman and her dog found a long lost early 1800's Army cemetery on the Eastern Promenade. It was 1980... and that was my mom and Oliver. He was an English Sheep Dog. She was pregnant with me at the time. Oliver was absolutely obsessed with this one area, and he'd always dig and dig. One day he uncovered the corner of a rotting coffin. Hand on my heart. I still have the old Portland Press Herald that wrote it up.
Hey guys I have a story for you a out Ft Gorges, an elderly couple rented a house from my father back in the mid 1970's they were John and Lyda , he was from Norway and she claimed to be the only person to be born on Ft Gorges. The dates I know about and I don't know her maiden name, she was married three times. After she was born her mother died and she was allowed to live with her father at the fort . When she was a small child her father went n a charter fishing trip and after a morning of fishing the captain of the boat dropped the anchor for lunch her dad ,after eating lunch ,felt like a nap and fel asleep behind an air vent where the captain couldn't see him and subsequently dropped the anchor on his chest killing him and that began the sad life of Lyda Dahl. She married three times and all three had problems with alcohol! She had 3 r 4 children and had many deaths in her family there's way more to this story but it doesn't pertain to Frt Geogus,thanks for listening, K
Nice to see you’re out doing this thanks for sharing.
Many channels talk about these “forts” perhaps were built for other purposes- and often called a “battery”.
“Old” etchings from 1995 😂😂😂😂
This is a must-visit for me, but this is a DRIIIIIIIIIVE.
Maybe on my way up to Acadia.
It’s absolutely worth a visit if you make it up there-just make sure you have a boat, like a kayak or canoe, to get out there!
J MASS 🙌🙌
6:00 The slits in the walls were rifle loopholes to shoot at anyone trying to enter. 8:37 the vegetation on the roof is actually causing extensive damage to the ceilings in the gun castmates and the US Army Corps of Engineers are trying to determine the best way to repair the roof while maintaining the vegetation. 9:32 a lot of third system forts had most of their support structure built of brick. 9:35 its plaster. Concrete was not really a thing the army used until the 1870s. 9:40 the fort has been left to decay for 75 years so a lot of wooden and plaster parts have fallen away such as in this room. 11:55 great for storing torpedos! 13:34 the fort remained a torpedo/mine storage facility until 1916 when it was put on caretaker status. 16:37 it is calcium minerals that bleed from the mortar holding the bricks together. It is also common on concrete gun batteries. 17:15 it is a safety measure due to the deterioration I mentioned earlier. The only people who do maintenance are the Friends of Fort Gorges and the US Army Corps of Engineers but they hardly do anything aside from close off unsafe areas. 19:10 Fort Preble, Fort Scammel, Fort Levett, Peaks Island MR, Fort McKinley, Jewell Island MR, Bailey Island MR, Long Island MR and Chebauge island MR. 20:30 it is to move the canons. 22:10 I think it is a mount for a radiator for a auxiliary generator. 25:00 possibly a rifle loophole? 25:30 this is one of the magazines for gunpowder. 26:09 they were once timbers that separated this room into two floors. 27:40 this is the primary/central magazine also for gunpowder. 30:20 this is again from the water damage caused by the roof vegetation. 32:11 they were melted down by the arsenals to make new weapons. 33:53 this is because all of the railings were installed by the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1994-2015. 35:48 that was done during the reconstruction of the roof in 1873ish. 39:26 1870s magazines. 41:28 it was installed in the 1870s and scrappers did not want to go through the effort of moving it so they dismounted it and left it there. The other officers quarters which I think was closed off still has an intact staircase and you could access the entire second level. Thank you for the video
Thank you so much for the notes and edits, much appreciated as always! And thank you for your help in my researching of this location! You’re a legend!
@@j-mass always here to help a brother out. Love the fort vids and the collabs. Keep up the great work!
Concur that 27:40 was were the ammunition/gun powder was stored.
Okay because everyone was there to witness the claims. 😂. They are ancient structure's. Energy resources and that's the closest to the truth anyone has gotten. The government knows everything. 😂. Durrt. Much Love. Revoke tax exemption status from the cult of scientology now.
An island granite fort. My dream home.
Very cool!
Thanks! It was a truly fascinating site to explore!
This was simply epic! Incredible!
Amazing to see the staircase in the officer's place. and all the fireplaces they did need them as it is cold with the great Maine North Wind. Thanks.
This has almost a very same set up as fort popham in phippsburg Maine ..
wow that’s a wicked cool spot! love the history and ruins!
Thanks dude! It was a very interesting spot for sure!
great job J-MASS and Tom !
Thanks so much! 🙏
Didn't know about this place. We used to love to go through Ft Knox when I was a kid. It wasn't abandoned but it wasn't really monitored much in early 90's.
1820 is when Maine became its own state!!!
It looks antediluvian, and that would explain all the dirt on the roof. Great video of an interesting site! Subscribed.
Wow.. Thanks for exploring this Fort..
I had wondered what it looked like in there while I was living in Maine..
I had visited the Portland Headlight and the batteries around that park and the gun emplacement bunker that faced this Fort..
Was always curious what the history was as well..
Thanks JMASS..
It doesn’t seem like you’re seeing the most incredible aspects….like the brickwork of the arched 2nd floor ceiling??? The granite block work? The floor?
True, the architecture at this place was fascinating to see! I loved all of the curved arches and brickwork as I walked throughout the casemates!
Being from central Maine, we have a few other main Granite Forts, Ft. Popham and Ft. Knox!!! Both forts protect, the mouths of the Kennebec River and Penobscot River, two of the major River systems!!! My river system (the Kennebec) was the proposed route of Benedict Arnold “ Americas favorite traitor to invade (British)Quebec City, Canada!!! In the War of 1812, the city of Portland was shelled by the British, so there was a need to build more elaborate defenses for the Casio Bay!!! Portland was Maine’s Capitol City originally, then Augusta was chosen to be a more centrally located Capitol City!!!
I’ve wanted to visit Fort Popham for a while now… hoping to get up there this summer! I love central Maine too, I wanna get back up to Augusta again soon! It’s been a while! Thanks for sharing this history!
I’m here in Portland Maine and always wanted to check out the fort but can’t. Ty for vid and its history. 👍
Those really dark rooms that you were walking through were powder magazines where the gunpowder for the cannons was stored.
16:40 Lyme mortar seeping through, it’s the same at fort independence in Southie. Similar designs too. Subscribed 👍🛎 edited to add that the little dead end rooms were the privy area when old basins were used.
Thank you for the information, much appreciated!
Gorges was Gorgeous (ha ha, I’m sure you thought that). I’ve been by that island many times on a lighthouse cruise, but have never been in that fort. You did a fantastic job illuminating all the historical place has to offer. And I’m looking forward to your Massachusetts series!
Thank you so much, I appreciate the kind words! 🙏
Try going to ft. Knox in Prospect, ME. They still have cannons, cannon balls and it's like 5 times as large as this fort. It also has access to the observatory on the penobscot narrows bridge, which is like 475 ft up! I was terrified. It also has tunnels into gun batteries and cells for prisoners. It never actually saw warfare.
There's another part that only a couple people know about. Not even sure if the people running the fort know.
Reminds me of the set for the hunger games 😱
JMASS I ENJOY THE NEW INTRO
Good afternoon from Cape Cod ⚓ that fort is in remarkable shape. Yes I guess it's hard to vandalize it when it's sitting out in the middle of the ocean 😂 thanks for documenting this Jason, I haven't seen this one. I've been to fort wetherill, fort Getty and fort Adams. Lived in New Bedford for 10 years and yes I've been to fort Rodman. The drone shots are awesome 👍 keep up the good work and be safe on your explorations✌️🇺🇲
Thank you so much man, I appreciate that!
I ENJOY JMASS
It must be a common thing to explore when you're young,I was in every mill and abandoned building i n Holyoke.
I first started exploring when I was 14, and have been doing it for 11 years since! It’s a fun activity that gives me a stronger appreciation for New England’s rich history!
@@j-massjust the government fed history. You kids need to think about the details of the bs. Really think about it does that STORY really make sense? Ask your self questions about everything. Start now. And then you will realize, real lies, with real eye's. Much Love
That would make a great venue for an electronic music festival...!
J, my wifes ancestors captained the Great Stone Sloops of Chebeague Island. The granite came from Vinalhaven. The REAL Red October actually happened right there off of Chebeague.
Woah, interesting history! Thanks for sharing!
Red brick wood the rest not us!!
Cool af!
I loved exploring Peaks Island in the 1980's. Diamond Island has a fort on it as well I believe?
I know House Island, Peaks Island, and Cushing Island all have forts on them-not sure about the Diamond Islands though. It’s possible!
Check Google maps .. it's mostly hidden by thick brush and trees ... The fort is mostly on the end of the island. From Wikipedia... "Great diamond Island; The island was used as a military base starting in the late 19th century and continuing through World War II. After the base was decommissioned, the bunkers and residences were left idle for over 30 years before being developed and sold to private citizens." ... "The abandoned concrete coastal artillery batteries exist in the woods at the east of the island, although they are technically private property and off-limits due to safety concerns. "
@@eastcoastmodz5195 concur. Fort McKinley is the most intact endicott era fort in New England. It is super hard to access because in the 1980s the original fort parcel was subdivided into developments.
@@j-mass Fort Levett on Cushings is also hard to access without explicit permission from the conservation commission president. If you can track him down he is more than willing to give a tour.
That would be awesome, maybe I’ll have to try that sometime and see if I can get permission to explore that fort!
Love this explore! Gorgeous Gorges! (Is that gray hair I see? 🧐 )
Sadly yes 😭 even though I’m 25 years old, I already have some gray hairs coming in!
J-MASS you really know your stuff i take it you do your homework before you adventure. say hello to tom for me. Peace from Wolverhampton England
I always try to do research before exploring; knowing the history makes the experience much more interesting and engaging! Thank you dude!
Love me some abandoned forts.
As someone who lives in Maine I've always wondered what a fort was doing here, I knew the name and when it was built but I never went out of my way to research it. Every time I go whale watching we pass the fort, looks beautiful from the sea.
It looks really beautiful from a distance while you’re on the bay!
I'm not sure if anyone knows this, but many old world buildings foundations are made of red brick like Fort Jefferson and ancient Rome.
Forts are also known as batteries..... Red brick was designed as it was capable of storing energy and was rechargeable.
Only the portland city council could let such potential rot away !
I live in maine and have always wanted to go out there I have been to all others but wasn't sure how open it was .I'm going to have to take the drones out and get some footage
It’s absolutely worth a visit, it’s such a cool place!
❤️❤️❤️
the vaulted room was for powder storage
TRY FORT TICONDEROGA IN N.Y.
I’ve been there before, that’s such a cool spot! Fascinating history there!
Another BS narrative and tourist brain wash the sheople. WE do not know who and WHY they were built. Truth.
Very nice video. I lived in Portland many years and had a view of this old fort and wish i had visited it also. Anyway, Casco bay is referred to as just that Casco bay. Not "the Casco bay" No worries, just don't want you to sound like a tourist. We will accept you since Maine was part of Mass until 1820. Good luck exploring! tom
Haha thank you so much for the clarification! I guess my inner Masshole was coming out in Maine 😂
I bet those beams are in some ones house on the ocean front
Oh, wow. I will be taking the drone there
This place is the PERFECT spot for flying drones! You get such amazing views from above!
J MASS J MASS
Check out the Milliken Battery in New Bedford MA.
I've been to Fort Rodman before, but never that specific battery--I'll have to check that out next time I'm down there!
It’s at Fort Taber, there’s a walkthrough, search for it. Extensive and fascinating place
Nearby in Tiverton RI is an insane megalithic "mill" hidden in the woods on sinand flesh brook next to fort Barton. Aloha
Milliken was built circa 1918-1920 and was casemated in 1944. the HDCP was also located there during WWII while the battery was still active!
JB = James Bond 😂 In all seriousness, I'm guessing it's someone's initials on the pillars, though it did conjure up another more obscure reference for me and if whoever carved had the intention I'm about to describe in mind, that's some next level shit. J and B (sometimes depicted as B and J) could be a reference to two pillars on the mystical Temple of Solomon, named Jachin and Boaz. Admittedly, I'm not overly familiar with the Hebrew history, however this symbolism is also used by the Freemasons and famously on The High Priestess tarot card (depicted very clearly on the Rider Waite Smith deck version if anyone is so inclined to search for an image). Very mysterious. I'd like to hope that whoever wrote the letters did have this esoteric intention in mind, but probably just a fluke and a coincidence.
That’s an interesting thought! I know at a lot of abandoned places I’ve visited, the graffiti has deeper meanings of alludes to something else. That would be an interesting one if true!
It is much older
1858
looks like was refurbished from an older time period
Amo storage
If you ever get up to the border of NY/Quebec/Vermont, you should check out Fort Montgomery on Lake Champlain which looks so much like this one, only part of it was destroyed to use as landfill for the bridge to Vermont in the 1930s which is so gross!!!! No respect for our historical landmarks back then!! It's not open to the public anymore due to all the disgusting vandalism and theft of so much and now how dangerous it is because it's crumbling, yet still so very stoic and beautiful in its own right. But the owner, my ex-husband, will grant access if you can track him down and if you know the secret password! haha
It looks so much like Fort Gorges!! Crazy! I filmed a movie about the French revolution in ours! It was so cool!! Especially at night though a tad creepy!
Maybe that two story room without windows was the main magazine room. It would have to be kept dry so it would make sense why there were no windows. They usually have one very large one then smaller rooms all around the perimeter which would explain those smaller rooms that seem to have no use. And for sure, the rooms with the crown mouldings and corbels would have been the officer's quarters and even a General! They wanted for nothing and always had the best of the best!
What I can't understand is how they built these amazing structures, in that time period, in the middle of the lake or other bodies of water. Either that was a man made island or they built it out in the shape of the fort. But how on Earth did they build them with virtually horse and buggies! You never see pictures or depictions of them being built and these forts are literally everywhere!! Even in places that were unpopulated and very difficult to get to. Canada is full of them as well though many were destroyed which seems like quite a feat with granite walls several feet thick! Even how they found and quarried the granite must have been quite the feat, let alone how they transported those huge stones on land and then on water. In Canada they were built when very few Europeans were here and I just find it baffling that they were able to locate the quarries and produce that much stone!! And they all are constructed from the exact same stone from Northern Canada all the way to the Caribbean islands and into Mexico, central and South America which is interesting. But they are literally everywhere in the world and no matter where, they all pretty much look the same with a few shape variations. Lake Champlain had countless forts all the way down the shoreline though not many remain other than the outline and the few ruins that no one has stolen. And there's Fort Ticonderoga south of there which was fully restored at the turn of the last century which is gorgeous. And just across the border on the Quebec side there is Fort Lennox in the middle of the Richelieu River which is what Lake Champlain converts to at the the border and that one is fully restored and rather lovely. Just in case you ever decide to drive North and check some more forts out! I have the 411 on many it's a bit of a hobby of mine!
You found yourself a real gem! It's lovely but sad that it's not maintained better but very few are sadly. This one is so much better off than most of them but I think being on an island it was harder for people ti destroy and steal from it. They don't seem to care too much about them. I don't think they should be privately owned because they aren't protected in any way, so if you buy one, you can literally knock it down and sell off the stone or blow it up if you so desire which I find terrifying!! My late father-in-law tried to donate the fort to the state, the county and the town and everyone said no!! They just don't care! So, future generations will only be able to see pictures of these beautiful pieces of our history and a pile of stone which is sad. I personally feel they should all be owned by organizations that maintain them and keep them open to the public and in good repair for many generations to come but sadly that's not happening. For all the forts you can still see, there are so many more that have been completely destroyed and built over and you'd never know they were there unless you find old maps which is what I do.
So glad you got there to show everyone this beauty!! I hope you didn't mind the ramble, I just love our historic forts!!
Safe travels and kindest regards from Montreal
Thank you so much for the comment, I appreciate that! I agree, historic forts like this should be open to the public to enjoy and experience! I actually really do want to visit Fort Montgomery up in Lake Champlain, it’s high up on my list right now to check out soon-however, I was concerned about it being private property. I hope there’s a way to get permission to go and explore it; I don’t think it should just sit there, untouched and unused!
@@j-mass You are welcome! My pleasure! It is private because it's really dangerous now. And if you want to get their by car, you need to go when the lake's water level is low because the cause-way is under water. Usually late summer, early fall is a good time unless you can go by boat. I can pass along the info to ask permission if you are serious about about going. I know it's been for sale for awhile but no one is lining up! I can't guarantee that the gate keeper will grant permission but it's worth a try!
That is such a shame that it’s private property and inaccessible to the public. As an intrinsically valuable piece of American history, it should be open for everyone to experience! I would absolutely be interested in going if you don’t mind passing along the contact information! I think it’s worth a try as I’d love to document this place!
@@j-mass I agree that these places should be open to the public but the locals don't deserve to go there after what they've done to it!! The vandalism! The disgusting garbage those morons spray painted all over those beautiful walls that made me cover my daughter's eyes when she was little. They stole so much of that fort and brag about it. And treating it like a dumping ground. Zero respect!! They don't care about maintaining and protecting our beautiful historic sites. Ignorant!!
Though since 9/11 and with the fort literally being on the Canadian border, the whole place is crawling with sensors so if anyone tries to sneak in, they will be surrounded by DHS, Border Patrol Coast Guard DEA etc!! Trust me, when I shot my film at the fort on the down low, we had helicopters hovering over us within minutes!! It was quite the scene! Me dressed as Marie Antoinette trying to act nonchalant as if it was just a normal day!! ahha
I'm not sure how to give you the contact info. I can put my email on here and when you see it, just shoot me a quick email and I'll delete it. I don't really like sharing my personal info on here.
But I just want to warn you, you have to be way more careful if you do get to the fort than the one you were just at. Parts of the floors are just gone and you could get seriously hurt. I would strongly suggest you don't go up to the second floor if you can still get there. I haven't been up there for years now and it was really dangerous then!! And of course don't ever go at night!! haha
So send me an email when you get this, poetessa222@gmail.com I know of several more forts in the area if you are interested, on both sides of the border. And there are some crazy stories about these places that just make me scratch my head! haha
@@j-mass I thought you might want to see a few clips from the film I shot at the fort. I was just messing around editing with this video so please ignore the odd sound issues etc, the film was much better!
You can see some of the graffiti etc. So sad.
It worked perfectly for the prison in Paris that Marie Antoinette was held at before her demise! I can try and find the pictures of it when it was intact back in the early 30s in all its splendour if you're interested. I've been planning on doing a video of it and the many others in the area. I've yet to see another star fort shaped like this one and trust me, I've studied them all over the world. From the air it looks like it has wings! Or..... a landing strip! Very odd shape!! I wish I knew how on Earth the built these works of sheer genius! And this fort in the middle of Lake Champlain!! It boggles my mind!
czcams.com/video/SDv6PfjRS3s/video.htmlsi=UDBnhrs-Mq7LHvKk
Every time I post a comment on your videos it gets deleted
Ugh, yeah it's YoutTube's built-in auto moderator. I don't know why it does that; sometimes it randomly deletes comments on a whim. Super annoying, I'm sorry about that!
Such a massive waste of effort and money to build that fort only to be rendered "obsolete" just after it was completed. Granted, it lived through the Civil War and both world wars, but it was never used as fortification except as a storage facility.
Yeah- originally proposed for the war of 1812 and the government dragged its feet and finally got around to building it when it was no longer needed.
Inherited construct I reckon
@@carlthacker570absolutely 💯👍🏻
The state of Maine must be broke
The fort looks bad.. it would be a great tourist attraction. Camping. Overnight stays. The plant growth will destroy the roof of the building. It's to bad the state or city don't care about the fort
Stop swinging the camera back and forth so fast. The camera isn't fast enough and it tracks
Have you ever given thought to how the materials were sourced, processed, and transported? Or the elaborate ways the fort was built with arches and angles. It does not fit the timeline. Just think of the whole process and how it would have been carried out. Not just a few paragraphs of repeated information anyone can find out.
True, it’s pretty wild to consider that this fort was built in a very isolated location with much more restricted technology than what we have today! The architecture and design is gorgeous!
@@j-mass agreed and keep em coming. cheers!
quarried, barges, derricks. Sounds like you need to do some research before being an asshole. J-Mass did an excellent job with this video.
On your next video you might not want to pan your camera back and forth so fast, do you ever watch you own videos? You do make watchers sick because of trying to focus on the fast moving visions.. really poor.
That’s a totally valid criticism-thank you! I definitely want to improve upon my cinematography with future videos. I appreciate the feedback!
they may turn it into a homeless housing, seems like a good spot
That's not happening !!! Make into hotel !!!
@@fernandoscrenci4874 it was proposed
they wont...
Your repeated narration isn't necessary... we are watching it and are not 3rd graders...