Queen's Fort
The fort's layout included an eastern bastion and a flanking wall built amongst large naturally occurring boulders. The fort was described as containing an enclosed chamber as well:
Within the fort a chamber – six square feet with a seven-foot ceiling and a sand floor – was perhaps built for the Narragansett queen Quaiapen (also called Matuntuck). She supposedly hid out at the site during King Phililp’s War before moving somewhere else, where she died. Some have also suspected that Quaiapen and Stonewall John were lovers."
The fort was known for the skill of its design, which used naturally occurring boulders connected with laid stone walls. Admiring colonists created the mistaken rumor that Stonewall John was an escaped English engineer.
The fort was described in conflicting Victorian-era accounts, and the rocky nature of the site prevented its reuse. The site has been owned by the Rhode Island Historical Society since 1931 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System – Queen's Fort (#80000024)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Preliminary Survey Report, Town of Exeter" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
- ^ "Six Mysterious Stone Structures of New England". New England Historical Society. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
- ^ Malone, Patrick M. (March 1973). "Changing Military Technology Among the Indians of Southern New England, 1600-1677". American Quarterly. 25 (1): 48–63. doi:10.2307/2711556. JSTOR 2711556.
Further reading
- McBurney, Christian. "Queen's Fort—Stone Refuge for Quaiapen, 1675-1676". smallstatebighistory.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.