Fort Larrabee
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Fort Larrabee (1735-1762) - A French & Indian War colonial Fort established in 1735 near Kennebunk, York County, Maine. Built by sergeant Stephen Larrabee on the site of an earlier garrison house built by his father William Larrabee (Larrabee's Garrison House). Abandoned and demolished in 1762 at the end of the French & Indian War. Assigned Location ID ME00106.
HistoryA large one-acre palisaded fortification built along the Mousam River by sergeant Stephen Larrabee to protect settler families from hostile Indian raids. The complex enclosed five houses, three for families and two for troops under the command of Nathan Morrison. The population of the fort increased during times of alert and alarm. The fort was attacked directly in 1747 but was not captured. The walls of the fort were made with squared timbers about 14 feet high arranged as a parallelogram fronting downriver. On the four corners were flankers that allowed elevated views of the outer walls. There were three gates, one at each end and one on the side. The houses inside the compound belonged to sergeant Larrabee, Edward Evans and Ebenezer Bayridge. These houses were a single story with square "block-windows" for light and ventilation. The fort was abandoned as a fortification circa 1762 as the French & Indian War came to an end. Current StatusReportedly there is a 1908 monument near the traditional site along the Mousam River off of Ocean View Road (private property) with a brass plaque reading, "Situation of The Early House and Later Timber Fort of Wiliam and Stephen Larrabee, The First Permanent Settlement of Kennebunk-1714-1724" The second site is said to be about a half a mile away off a path that leads down to the ocean.
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