Organized and led by Richard and Gloria Schmidt
Richard and Gloria write a local history blog on Portsmouth called Portsmouth History Notes and are Historical Advisors to the Battle of Rhode Island Association.
Walking the Fort - A tour of Butts Hill Fort
Saturday May 2, 3pm-3:45pm
Start and end at Portsmouth High School North Parking Lot
Butts Hill played a major role in the Occupation of Aquidneck Island and the Battle of Rhode Island. The Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee is restoring this fort as a park and memorial to those who fought and died during the Battle. This walk explored the land history of the hill, the British use during Occupation, the American use during the Battle and the French construction of a true fort and efforts to preserve this earthenwork fort.
Walk Reflections
Gloria and Richard assembled our group on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon in the Portsmouth High School parking lot. From there we walked up the hill toward the wind turbine and entered the old earthworks fort. No one in our group of about 10 people had ever been there, which was such a surprise.
Gloria and Richard are part of a group of volunteers who continue to ensure that the Butts Hill Fort is cleared and cared for, describing the importance of not just preserving buildings, but also views and outdoor landmarks.
Though the fort itself is approximately 35 acres, much of it is covered in woods at this point and so we stayed in a relatively small area. Gloria and Richard asked us to imagine different periods in time from the soldiers who filled gabions and fascines during it’s original construction period to the large festivities that opened the Fort to the public in the 1920’s to recent work that the community has done.
We each ended the walk feeling grateful to know about this community resource on the Island and to get to spend time with two such wonderful scholars.
