Fort Saco

Fort Saco (1693-1708) - A King William's War Fort established in 1693 near Saco, York County, Maine. Named Fort Saco after the location. Abandoned circa 1708 for Fort Mary near Biddeford Pool. Officially known to the Massachusetts Government as His Majesty's Fort Mary at Saco. Also known as Fort Mary (1) and later as the Old Stone Fort after it was abandoned. Assigned Location ID ME00087. Fort Saco in 1699. King Philip's War (1675-1678) Some of the opening shots of King Philip's War were aimed at the settlement at Saco Falls when Hostile Indians attacked the garrison of Major Philips. The garrison house was strongly built with large timbers and a blockhouse-like second floor. The attack was thwarted and twenty-one hostiles were killed or wounded. Within the settlement, only Major Philips Garrison House was left standing. He was later forced to abandon the garrison house and retreat to Winter Harbor. The garrison house was then burned down by the hostiles making the destruction of the original Saco Falls settlement complete. Three years later a treaty was signed at Casco Bay in April 1678 ending the conflict and a ten year period of relative peace ensued. King William's War (1689-1697) At the beginning of King William's War, Hostile Indians again burned what was now the township of Saco in 1688. In this war, the French from Canada and western Maine supported and encouraged Indian tribes to raid English settlements to drive them out of Maine. This war became known as the first French & Indian War. To protect the growing settlement of Saco a Fort was constructed in the summer of 1693 under the supervision of Major Francis Hooke and Ensign John Hill (Later Captain Hill). This fort was located on high ground on the western side of the Saco River just below the falls. The fort was not large enough to house all of the settlers and the garrison of about 20 soldiers so as the war progressed some settlers were forced to move some family members west to larger settlements. As conditions worsened and the fort became the last stronghold for local settlers there were fears that it would also have to be abandoned or fall to hostile Indian attacks. John Hill's own family was separated in this manner with his father removed to Wells and his mother at the Saco fort. A short period of relative peace existed between wars (1697-1702) and for a part of this peace, the fort was unoccupied. In 1708 the entire garrison was ordered relocated to the new Fort Mary (2) overlooking Biddeford Pool and Fort Saco was abandoned. Fort Saco Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1693~ 8 Apr 1700 Capt Hill, John N/A 8 Apr 1700 1708~ Capt Turfrey, George N/A Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. John Hill (1666-1713) John Hill was born in Saco, Maine, in 1666. In 1689, John was commissioned an ensign for King William's War. He married Mary Frost in 1694, and they had four children. Mary Frost was the daughter of Major Charles Frost who was Hill's commander at the time. Hill served throughout the war and as a reward for his heroic conduct was made lieutenant and subsequently captain, He commanded His Majesty's Fort Mary from about 1693, until 1700 when he resigned his commission at the rank of Captain. The acceptance letter for Captain Hill's resignation was effective 8 Apr 1700. It confirms His Majesty's Fort Mary at Saco name and assigns a new Commander, Captain George Turfrey. John Hill then built a house in Berwick, Maine, near Great Works Falls in 1700-1701 where he lived until his death in 1713. Notes In the 1840s a trunk with original documents from the 1680s and 1690s was discovered in an old attic. Those documents changed the way that history looked at the two forts that were established in this area. A key phrase in many of the documents was in the address, they were addressed to "His Majesty's Fort Mary at Saco". The Massachusetts governor's acceptance of Captain John Hill's resignation dated 8 Apr 1700 was so addressed. The Fort Mary above Biddeford Pool was not authorized by the General Court until 1708 and the entire garrison of the Saco Fort was transferred here in 1708 and the old fort was abandoned. The Saco Fort was known to the Massachusetts Colonial Government as His Majesty's Fort Mary at Saco and that when the garrison transferred to the new fort the Fort Mary name was transferred with the garrison becoming His Majesty's Fort Mary at Hill's Beach. The abandoned fort at Saco became the Old Fort and later the Old Stone Fort. Captain Hill only served and commanded at Fort Mary (1), because he had resigned 8 years before Fort Mary (2) was built. Current Status The fort site has been overbuilt with mill buildings. The outside wall of the old mill building now has a plaque and a reader board for the old forts. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Saco, York County, Maine. Maps & Images Lat: 43.49270 Long: -70.45185 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' GPS Locations: 43.49270, -70.45185 See Also: Fort Mary (2) King William's War Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 368. Owen, Daniel E., Old Times in Saco, 1891 Books and Publications. 22. Pdf Links: North American Forts - Fort Saco Wikipedia - Fort Saco HMDB - A Stone Fort HMDB - Fort Saco in 1693 Visited: No