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May 22, 2010

Friends want Fort Halifax to be preserved, protected

The Friends of Fort Halifax is a nonprofit formed after the Flood of '87 washed away the blockhouse.

Our specific purpose was to see to it that the blockhouse was rebuilt and to promote public appreciation of the history of Fort Halifax.

A member rebuilt the blockhouse, using original building methods and using as many original timbers as possible. Recently, we have worked to improve the entrance and to obtain signage.

Unfortunately, the goals of the Friends have been misrepresented recently in this newspaper. Some individuals are proposing construction of a visitor's center, a walkway that would be under flood waters each year, a two-story entertainment control center and a large boat launch for motorized boats (even though the state of Maine clearly wrote to the town in 2001 stating that this site is unsuitable for a boat launch due to low and dangerous waters each summer).

The Friends have never favored development of permanent entertainment facilities on this beautiful, quiet site. Our goals for the park are:

* Preserve historic and archaeological assets.

* Relocate the parking area to open up the footprint of the entire fort.

* Protect the open space of the park.

* Use the site as an "outdoor museum" for area students.

The history of this peninsula encompasses more than Fort Halifax. Different cultures have lived and interacted on this peninsula for 3,000 years. An historic archaeologist from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission rated the site a "perfect 10" on a scale of 1 to 10 for "national" historic significance.

Should the town undertake development of the park, it should preserve the artifacts remaining underground, and structures should be architecturally consistent with the remaining historic blockhouse.

Gerard Poissonnier, president

Friends of Fort Halifax

Winslow

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