Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

The nonprofit Fort Adams Trust has established the Fort Adams Preservation Fund, a permanent endowment at The Rhode Island Foundation, to help fund ever-increasing operating and maintenance costs at the 185-year-old Fort and surrounding property.

"Fort Adams is one of the most significant historic sites in Rhode Island and is the largest and most complex structure of its type in the country," Eric Hertfelder, executive director of Fort Adams Trust, said in a press release.

Situated at the entrance to Newport harbor, Fort Adams was built between 1824 and 1857. Its irregular pentagon shape was designed to accommodate the limited space and shape of land that was considered critical for improved coastal defenses. It housed soldiers and protected Narragansett Bay from 1824 to 1950.

The fort, site of the annual Newport jazz and folk festivals, was acquired by the state in 1965 when it became Fort Adams State Park.

"The state opened the Fort for tours from time to time in order to provide public access to this historic site," Larry Mouradjian, associate director of Natural Resources Management for the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM), said in the press release. "Although the fort is incredibly well built, it has been a challenge to stabilize, let alone maintain, a property of this size and magnitude, because of the tremendous amount of resources needed to do so, and only through partnerships and new and innovative uses will it succeed."

 Tags  Newport Rhode Island Rhode Island Foundation RI

Comments

Allie B said:

YAY FORT ADAMS!!!!!

Link | February 6, 2009 10:32 AM
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