Fort Sumner (Maine)
historic fort in Portland, Maine, USA
Fort Sumner was a coastal defense fortification on Munjoy Hill in Portland, Maine, United States. It was built in 1794 as part of the first system of coastal fortifications built by the United States. It was reportedly originally named Fort Allen after the nearby Revolutionary War battery that probably became part of Fort Sumner, but was renamed in 1797 after Increase Sumner, the incumbent Governor of Massachusetts, of which Maine was then a part. The location is now Fort Sumner Park (or Standpipe Park).
History
Fort Sumner consisted of a blockhouse, magazine, and barracks on the summit of Munjoy Hill, a site now occupied by Fort Sumner Park, and a "water battery" (battery near a body of water) or "detached battery", probably where Fort Allen Park is now and an upgrade of the Revolutionary War Fort Allen. The battery was rebuilt in 1798 and 1808. The Secretary of War's report for December 1811 describes a battery "at the north end of the town... of five guns mounted and four 18-pounders mounted on travelling carriages". This probably refers to the detached battery, which may have been on the Fort Allen site. Fort Sumner lessened in importance with the construction of Fort Preble and Fort Scammel in 1808, part of the federal government's second system of fortifications.
The public source identifies “Fort Sumner (Maine)” as historic fort in Portland, Maine, USA. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Fort, Sumner and Maine.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q22059405. Authority coordinates are 43.667, -70.251. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1794, 1797, 1798 and 1808.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fort Sumner (Maine)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.