Fort Stevens
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Fort Stevens (1865-1947) - Named for General Isaac Stevens a Governor of the Washington Territory. The fort was built under supervision of the United States Army Engineers starting in July 1863. It was completed 8 Apr 1865 and was first occupied by a company of the Eighth California Volunteers, 25 April 1865. The garrison was withdrawn in 1882 and the post placed in the charge of ordinance sergeant Elias H. Brodie.
Endicott Period
In 1897 Fort Stevens underwent a massive re-fortification program to improve coastal defense that resulted in the construction of 8 Endicott Period concrete batteries around the original site. Two other forts, Fort Canby and Fort Columbia, were built on the Washington side of the Columbia River to complete the Harbor Defense System.
The West Battery was built in 1898 with a total of six, 10" disappearing carriage rifles. The West Battery was later renamed, in three sections of two rifles each, Battery Mishler, Battery Walker and Battery Lewis. Battery Lewis and Battery Walker were traditional Endicott Period Batteries facing toward the Columbia River entrance. Battery Mishler was different in that the two, 10" rifles had a all-around field (ARF) of fire and could cover both the Columbia River entrance and the Pacific Ocean approaches. The six rifles of the West Battery were supplemented by two, 6" rifles of Battery Pratt.
Battery Russell was built to provide additional coverage of the Pacific Ocean approaches to the mouth of the Columbia with two, 10" disappearing carriage rifles. Battery Clark was built with eight, 12" mortars (later reduced to four) that could provide plunging fire with 1,000 pound shot on the decks of hostile ships in either direction.
World War II
Fort Stevens was significantly built up during World War II and had the distinction of being the only stateside installation attacked by enemy forces since the war of 1812 when a Japanese submarine I-25 fired 17 shells close to the fort. The fort did not return the fire because the submarine was out of range of Fort Stevens older guns. The submarine left without inflicting any damage.
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Current Status
After World War II Fort Stevens was deactivated and by 1947 all the armament had been removed.
In Sep 1950, just after the start of the Korean War, the Air Force established Fort Stevens Air Force Station (759th AC&W) on the Fort Steven post. The Air Force Station provided long range radar surveillance using CPS-5D and TPS-1B radar sets mounted on top of Battery Mishler. The unit headquarters was located in the "Guard House" and Battery Mishler served as the operations and maintenance center for the squadron.
Fort Stevens Air Force Station moved to Naselle AFS in Washington Feb 1952.
Oregon State Parks leased the old fort area in 1975 and continues restoring and interpreting the fort.
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Location: Situated at the mouth of the Columbia River and located nine miles from Astoria in Clatsop County, Oregon. Maps & Images Lat: 46.206953 Long: -123.962688
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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 668
- Hanft, Marshall, Fort Stevens: Oregon's defender at the river of the West, Your Town Press, 1980
- Hanft, Marshall, The Cape Forts: Guardians of the Columbia, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland OR, 1973, 2nd reprint, 2003, ISBN 0-87595-044-2
- Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 136
- Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W., Fortress America: The Forts That Defended America, 1600 to the Present, DaCapo Press, 2004, ISBN 0-306-81294-0, page 346
- Coastal Defense Study Group
- Oregon Military History, Forts-Camps-Roads
Links:
- Fort Stevens State Park
- Friends of Fort Stevens State Park
- NorthAmericanForts.com
- Early Fort Stevens Photos
- HDCR During the Second World War
- Coastal Defense Study Group, Press, Digital Library, Forums
Visited: 18 May 2008, 28 Jan 2007, 15 Feb 2006, 27 Aug 2005
Picture Gallery
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Click on the pictures to see a larger version. |
 Map of Fort Steven Facilities, photo by J Stanton, Feb 2006 |
 Barracks at Fort Stevens, 1954 |
 Guardhouse at Fort Stevens, 1954 |
 Fort Stevens Battery |
 Officer Quarters at Fort Stevens, 1962 |
 Batteries Pratt, Lewis and Walker at Fort Stevens, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 Battery Lewis at Fort Stevens, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 Battery Walker at Fort Stevens, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 Battery Pratt at Fort Stevens, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 Replica of 6-inch Rifle at Battery Pratt, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 South Jetty at Fort Stevens, JStanton, Feb 2006 |
 Fort Stevens Trail Guide |
