Long Island

Last Update: 26/OCTOBER/2022

Compiled by Pete Payette - Š2022 American Forts Network

Camp Albert L. Mills
(1917 - 1919), Garden City
A Federalized National Guard cantonment training camp in 1917 for the 41st and 42nd Divisions. Became part of the New York Port of Embarkation in 1918. Became a demobilization center in 1919. Just to the east was built Mitchel Army Air Field (aka Aviation Field #2) (1917 - 1961). In 1938 Mitchel Field expanded to include the site of Camp Mills. Site now a residential area bounded by Clinton Road, Westbury Blvd., and Roosevelt Road. A monument for the 42nd Division is located at Commercial Ave. and Clinton Road. Nassau Community College later took over most of Mitchel Field.

Camp Hazelhurst
(1898, 1915 - 1917/1920), Garden City
Originally the site of Camp Black, a Spanish-American War muster and training camp for state troops, bounded by Old Country Road, Clinton Road, and the Central Line Railroad. State marker at 501 Stewart Ave.. Site used again in 1915 - 1917 for state guard training. Renamed Camp Hazelhurst in 1917, associated with Hazelhurst Army Air Field (aka Aviation Field #1), adjacent to Mitchel Field to the south, where the Signal Corps Aviation School was located. Became a civilian site and renamed Curtis Field in 1920. Merged with Roosevelt Field to the north in 1929. Closed in 1951, now a commercially developed area.

Camp Winfield Scott
(1861), Garden City
A Civil War training camp. State marker at 11th Street and Washington Ave..

Fort Massapeag (Archaeological Site)
(1650's), Massapequa
A Massapeag Indian stronghold that was captured by the British in 1653. It then became a temporary base camp for use against the Indians. The fort was earlier described by Dutch explorers. Possibly rebuilt by Dutch traders in 1656. It was a 90-foot square with a six-foot deep palisaded ditch. Site located on Fort Neck at Merrick Road and Cedar Shore Drive, near the Harbor Green development. The town was originally known as South Oyster Bay.

Another similar fort or stronghold was described in 1811 located at the southern point of the "Salt Meadow", but has long since eroded away.

Fort Nonsense (1)
(1778 - 1779), Jericho
A British Legion winter camp and foraging post centered around the old village center. A barn on the then James Townsend property, just north of the junction of Old Jericho Turnpike and the old Hicksville-Oyster Bay Road, was fortified by the cavalry, and the Townsend House (the present Jackson-Malcom House) was also fortified and used as camp headquarters and Officers' quarters. The name may be derived from the local Quaker community here at the time, which posed no threat to the British military. No remains of any military structures. Site now the Sangha Education Center located on the Jericho Historic Preserve at 5 Old Jericho Turnpike. The rear portion of the present house may date to the period. The old barn was destroyed by fire in 1816. The former town center (Jericho Corners) was completely razed and cleared for modern highway development in 1958 (now the cloverleaf of the new Jericho Turnpike (NY 25) and NY 106/107). The 22-acre Jericho Historic Preserve was created by Nassau County in 1974, saving the few historic houses left, with the Malcom House property added in 2000.

Oyster Bay Fort (1)
(1656 - unknown), Oyster Bay
A Dutch fort was built here according to colonial records.

Oyster Bay Post (2)
(1777 - 1783), Oyster Bay
Headquarters for the Loyalist Queen's Rangers during the British occupation of New York City. Raynham Hall (1738) was used as the Commanding Officer's quarters, located at 20 West Main Street (admission fee). The Earle-Wightman House (1720) at 20 Summit Street was also used as barracks, now the home of the Oyster Bay Historical Society. The apparently unnamed earthwork fort was a 100 by 100-foot square redoubt with a blockhouse on the hill ("Fort Hill") overlooking the town, located at present-day Orchard, Simcoe, and Prospect Streets. No remains. State marker at Orchard and Prospect Streets. See also History of Oyster Bay from the Oyster Bay Historical Society

Fort Franklin
(1778 - 1783), Lloyd Neck
A major British post located on the western side of Lloyd Neck on Fort Hill overlooking Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor. The nearby Joseph Lloyd Manor House (1767) was used as British Officers' quarters, located at 1 Lloyd Lane (admission fee). The earthwork fort (with six guns) was about 150 feet by 125 feet with a blockhouse in the center. Attacked by a Patriot force in September 1779, with the entire garrison taken prisoner. Attacked again in July 1781. In 1879 the Alden Mansion (aka Fort Hill House) was built on site, incorporating the extant earthworks into the formal landscape. The house was rebuilt and enlarged in 1900, and was further restored in the 1990's. A small portion of the earthworks still survive. Located at 31 Fort Hill Drive (private property).

Located on the eastern side of Lloyd Neck at Target Rock (East Fort Point) overlooking Huntington Bay was the so-called East Fort, a two-gun shore battery that was subordinate to Fort Franklin. It fired upon a Patriot ship during the July 1781 attack. The shoreline here has been severely eroded away over the past two centuries, leaving no trace of the battery site. This area is now part of the Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge.

Huntington Forts
(1653, 1777 - 1783), Huntington
An unnamed British redoubt was located on Fort Hill. Its remains were noted as late as 1876. No remains today, site now residential homes, along East Main Street (NY 25A) at Fort Hill Road and Maple Hill Road.

Also in town were two other smaller British redoubts, one located on a hill at or near the present Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (1845/1925) and St. John's Cemetery (1747) at 291 Park Ave.; and the other located at the Place Farm in the West Hills area of South Huntington, near the present Whitman-Place House (1810) at 69 Chichester Road.

A colonial militia stone fort (1653) was said to be located on the property of the Joseph Whitman House (1692) at 365 West Hills Road (state marker at 85 Chichester Road).

Fort Golgotha
(1782 - 1783), Huntington
A British earthwork fort built in an old cemetery (Old Burying Hill at Main Street (NY 25A) and Nassau Road) from the wood of a dismantled church, and the British troops' grim humor gave it its name. The tombstones were used for tables, fireplaces, and bake ovens. An earthen wall surrounded the two-acre enclosure, with a barrack in the center. The cemetery was restored after the war. Low lying extant earthen berms may be the remnants of the fort.

Fort Slongo
(1778 ? - 1781), Fort Salonga
Located at Treadwell's Neck along NY 25A, about one mile northeast of Bread and Cheese Hollow Road. A British earthwork redoubt with a ditch and a seven-foot high wall, garrisoned by 100 men. Captured by Patriots in October 1781 ("Battle of Treadwell's Neck"). The blockhouse and stores were destroyed, but most of the men escaped. Trace remains of the blockhouse foundations and earthwork walls are still extant, located behind 46 Brookfield Road (private property). The village's name was later corrupted.

Fort Setauket
(1777 - 1778), Setauket
The British fortified the Presbyterian church situated on the town common along Strong's Neck Road and Caroline Ave.. Sustained two Patriot raids in 1777 (August and December). Four swivel guns were mounted in the church's gallery windows, with the first floor used for stables. An earthwork wall surrounded the church, and was palisaded. The church was repaired after the war, but later burned down. A new Presbyterian church was built on site in 1812 (at 5 Caroline Ave.). The town was originally known as Brookhaven.

Fort Nonsense (2)
(1813), Poquott
A local militia one-gun earthwork battery on the northern end of Dwyer's Neck on the western side of Port Jefferson Harbor.

Camp Upton
(Brookhaven National Laboratory)
(BNL History of Camp Upton)
(1917 - 1919, 1941 - 1945), Upton
A National Army cantonment training camp for the 77th Division. Located five miles northeast of Yaphank. Became a demobilization center in 1919. Buildings sold off in 1921, some used as private homes, but the reservation was retained by the Army. A new camp was built on the same site in 1941 for WWII training. The camp was also used as a coastal defense shore patrol base camp and headquarters by the 1st Battalion, 113th Infantry Regiment beginning December 14, 1941 (until January 1944 ?). Became a convalescent hospital in 1944 for returning troops from Europe. Irving Berlin trained here in 1917, a possible source for his song "Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning". During WWII the camp was used for rehearsal space for Berlin's musical "This is the Army". Site became Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1947, used for nuclear science research. See also The Camp Upton Story by Norval Dwyer

Fort St. George
(1780), Mastic Beach
A British supply base located on Mastic Neck at Smith Point at the end of Neighborhood Road, off the William Floyd Parkway (NY 46), just north of present-day Shirley Beach park. It was a 96-foot square earthen redoubt with bastions, a deep moat (dry ditch), and an abatis, connected by a 200-foot triangular palisade to two fortified houses at the other two corners, one of them being the original Smith Manor House (1709). Built for six guns, but only two were mounted. It was attacked by Patriots soon after it was built (November 1780) and was destroyed. No trace remains, except for surface discoloration of the grass outlining the former moat. The present manor house was built in 1844. Site became a Brookhaven Township park in 1955, known as the "Manor of St. George". A D.A.R. stone monument is at the site, along with two Civil War era display cannon. A state marker (2017) is located 4.2 miles north in Shirley on the Montauk Highway (NY 80) at the William Floyd Parkway (NY 46).

Fort Corchaug ?
(Downs Farm Preserve)
(1630's - 1660's), Cutchogue
A fortified Corchaug Indian stronghold, possibly built by Dutch traders as a refuge from Pequot Indian raids from Connecticut. Site located on the western side of Downs Creek. A stone marker is located on NY 25 north of the site.

Fort at Canoe Place
(1779 - 1780), Canoe Place
A British earthwork redoubt located on a hill behind the Canoe Place Inn (1750), now on the west side of the present-day Shinnecock Canal. This was once an important portage between Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Bay. The old inn burned down in 1921. The redoubt still existed until the 1980's before the area became developed with residential homes.

Southampton Fort
(1777 - 1778), Southampton
A British earthen redoubt was located on a small hill near present-day Lola Prentice Memorial Park on Windmill Lane. State marker ("Old Fort") at park entrance (205 Windmill Lane). The actual site is most likely the lots at present-day 215 and 217 Windmill Lane. The fort's ruins (with a modern windmill erected within) were demolished in 1930 for a new street alignment (White Street) and residential development. Prentice Park was then created in 1932 after the demolition of the Union School (1890) that was there. A replica fort was built in the park in 1976, but was demolished and removed before 1990, now outdoor basketball courts.

There may have been two additional redoubts also in the vicinity, also on the west side of Windmill Lane (known as West Street during colonial days), one reportedly being found (c. 1900) on the farm of George White a few hundred yards south of the main redoubt.

Sag Harbor Forts
(1776 - 1780, 1813 - 1814, 1840's ?), Sag Harbor
The British established a major fortified supply depot and arsenal here during the American Revolution. Raided by Patriots in May 1777 ("Battle of Sag Harbor"). A 1902 marker denoting the fort is located near the Old Burying Ground adjacent to the Whaler's Church (1844). It was about 50-feet square, and was garrisoned by 60 men in 1777. A blockhouse was probably located within the fort. British officers were quartered at James Howell's Tavern on Main Street, site now the American Hotel. Troop barracks were on Madison Street near Sage Street.

A new American fort was built in 1813 with six guns and a 3000-man garrison. Possibly remained in use as a depot by the local militia until the Civil War. The Meigs Monument on Union St. (commemorating the 1777 battle) is on the site of this later American fort.

A Federal Second System Gun House/Arsenal (1808) was located in town (unknown location).

Montauk Indian Fort
(1661), Montauk
A Montauk Indian stronghold was originally located on the western side of Hither Hills at Napeague Harbor. A new fort was built in 1661 overlooking Fort Pond. Area artifacts are on display at the Pharoah Site Indian Artifacts Museum, located east of town at Theodore Roosevelt County Park (aka Montauk County Park until 1998).

Camp Wikoff
(1898, 1920's), Montauk
This was a major Spanish-American War demobilization center, and the only national quarantine camp for troops returning from Cuba. About 30,000 troops were encamped here at the time. Site was later used in the 1920's for NY NG summer training. Located along Fort Pond and Fort Pond Bay. The "Third House" (1747) at Theodore Roosevelt County Park was used by Teddy Roosevelt while the Rough Riders were encamped here.

¤¤ HARBOR DEFENSES of EASTERN LONG ISLAND SOUND
(see also Fort Mansfield, RI)
Harbor Defense of Long Island Sound - FORT WIKI
The Coastal Forts of Eastern Long Island from the Southold Historical Society

¤¤ Camp Hero
(Camp Hero State Park)
(Montauk Point State Park)
(1929/1938 - 1948/1982), Montauk Point
Originally a U.S. Navy seaplane installation. Later taken over by the Army and named Montauk Point Military Reservation until formally named in 1942. Batteries here are Battery Dunn / 113 (1944 - 1948), Battery 112 (1944 - 1948), and Battery 216 (1944 - 1947). The plotting room casemates for Batteries 112 and 113 also still exist, however all battery and bunker entrances are currently sealed and off-limits to the public. A concrete fire-control tower is by the lighthouse to the east, another is in ruins in the surf. An additional FC tower and a modern Air Force air defense radar tower (AN/FPS-35) are still located within the park. The nearby Montauk Point Lighthouse on Turtle Hill was built in 1796 (admission fee).
A Signal Corps SCR-271 early warning air defense radar was located nearby on Prospect Hill (el. 154 feet) from 1942 - 1945. The Air Force set up an AN/TPS-1B long range search radar here from 1948 - 1950. The western portion of the original Army reservation formally became Montauk Air Force Station from 1957 - 1982. The state park was created in 1984. Despite popular myth and urban legends, there are no secret underground tunnels or laboratories here.
See also Camp Hero and Montauk Air Force Station by Donald E. Bender
See also The Coast Artillery at Camp Hero from Skylighters.org

Additional fire-control stations associated with Camp Hero were located at Shagwong Point (still extant, modified, private property), Ditch Plains (Shadmoor State Park) (two, now derelict, and radar tower site), Hither Hills (two still extant, private property), Amagansett (still extant, private property), East Hampton (no remains), and at Block Island, RI (three left).

¤¤ Fort Terry
(USDA Plum Island Animal Disease Center)
(Preserve Plum Island)
(1898 - 1946), Plum Island
Batteries here are Battery Stoneman (1901 - 1943), Battery Steele (1900 - 1942), Battery Bradford (1901 - 1944), Battery Floyd (1906 - 1917), Battery Dimick (1905 - 1917), Battery 217 (1944, never armed), Battery Kelly (1898 - 1917) partially buried, Battery Hagner (1906 - 1932) mostly destroyed, Battery Eldridge (1906 - 1946), Battery Dalliba (1905 - 1946), Battery Greble (1905 - 1932), Battery Campbell (1905 - 1934) partially destroyed, AMTB Battery 911 (1943 - 1946) at Pine Point, and a four-gun 155mm battery (1942 - 1943) on top of Battery Steele. Two two-gun AA batteries (1920) were also here. Several observation towers remain. The fortifications were located mainly on the eastern end of the island. The entire island has been used by the USDA since 1954 as an animal disease research lab. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security took over administration of the island in 2003. Access is restricted. DHS has scheduled closure of the facility in 2015 pending construction of a new facility in Manhattan, Kansas.
See also Plum Island/Fort Terry Military Railroad by Philip M. Goldstein

¤¤ Fort Michie
(1896 - 1948), Great Gull Island
(Great Gull Island Project)
Located between Plum Island and Fishers Island. Batteries here are Battery Davis (1923 - 1945), Battery Palmer (1900 - 1945), Battery North (1900 - 1918) destroyed to make way for Davis, Battery Benjamin (1908 - 1947), Battery Maitland (1908 - 1947), Battery Pasco (1905 - 1934), and AMTB Battery 912 (1943 - 1946). An AA battery (1920) was at Battery Palmer. There was a disappearing searchlight emplacement, and several observation towers remain. The entire island is currently owned by the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. Public access is restricted. Guided tours are offered seasonally.

¤¤ Fort Tyler
(1896 - 1924), Gardiners Point Island
Originally located on the northwest point of Gardiners Island, long since overwashed and now its own island (since 1888). Battery Edmund Smith (1898 - 1915) is here. Adandoned due to continued severe erosion of the beach. Briefly became a state park in 1927-30. Later the fort was used for target practice by Navy aircraft during World War II. It was severely damaged from the aerial bombing. No public access. Became a federal wildlife refuge in 1938, now part of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge complex.

A WWII fire-control tower still remains on Whale Hill on the main of Gardiners Island. See also Welcome to Gardiners Island by Ospreys Guide.com

¤¤ Fort H.G. Wright
(1899 - 1950), Fishers Island
This was the headquarters for the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound. Originally located here was Camp Fishers Island from 1879 - 1888. It was also known as Camp Creedmore, Camp R. N. Scott, and Camp Stephen B. Luce. Batteries here are Battery Clinton (1902 - 1943) partially buried, Battery Butterfield (1901 - 1945) partially buried, Battery Barlow (1901 - 1943) partially buried, Battery Dutton (1901 - 1945) partially buried, Battery Hamilton (1905 - 1917), Battery Marcy (1906 - 1917), Battery 215 (1943 - 1946) at Race Point, Battery Dynamite (1901 - 1902) at Race Point, Battery Hoffman (1906 - 1946), Battery Hoppock (1905 - 1946), and AMTB Battery 913 (1943 - 1946), which is buried. A mobile 155mm gun battery was here before WWII. A three-gun AA battery (1930's) was located near the airfield. Several fire-control stations are still located at Race Point. A Balloon Hangar was built in 1920, demolished in 1962. Elizabeth Field was first built in 1931 at South Beach. The two paved runways were built in 1941. During WWII the Navy based G-1 airships here for anti-submarine patrols. The Navy also operated a Naval Training School here in WWII. The military post became private property in 1958.

Located at the North Hill Military Reservation (1917 - 1950) are New Battery Hackleman (1944 - 1946) (still extant), and an unnamed 5-inch gun battery (1917 - 1919) (probably not built ?).

Located at the Mount Prospect / Wilderness Point Military Reservation (1908/1943 - 1949/1960's) are Battery 111 (1944, never armed) on Mt. Prospect, Battery 214 (1944, never armed) (built on) at Wilderness Point, and the underground Harbor Defense Command Post / Harbor Entrance Control Post on Mt. Prospect. A two-gun AA battery (1918, armed in 1920, third gun added 1930's) was also located on Mt. Prospect. Four fire-control stations are still located on Mt. Prospect. The Navy took over this parcel in 1949 for the Naval Underwater Sound Laboratory.

Located at East Point was AMTB Battery 916 (1943 - 1946) (probably not built ?), and four observation stations on nearby Hill 90.

See also "Guardian of the Sound" by Pierce Rafferty

Additional fire-control stations associated with Fort Wright were located in Rhode Island at Green Hill (no remains), Charlestown (still extant), Weekapaug Point (no remains), and Watch Hill Point (no remains).

Some info for HD Long Island provided by Alex Holder of the Coast Defense Study Group.

QUESTIONS ? Please send any corrections and/or additions to this list to:
"Updates" at NorthAmericanForts.com