Fort Adams National Historic Landmark

In late August 2024, after a morning of hiking the Cliff Walk and viewing the Great Elephant Migration, I spent the afternoon at Fort Adams State Park. After a relaxing picnic lunch, I took a tour of Fort Adams itself, originally named after second U.S. President John Adams, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970. As an added bonus, the fort was celebrating its 200 Year Anniversary, with construction started in 1824 and completed in 1857.

Compared to other forts of its time, the structure is ridiculously big. The entire system is spread across twenty acres (about 81,000 m²) with the grassy parade field inside the walls of the fort taking up six-and-a-half acres (about 26,000 m²). A model of the fort provided an overview of its five-pointed design, also called an irregular star fort. Theoretically, the fort could have supported up to 468 cannons and 2,400 soldiers, all to protect nearby Newport Harbor and its entrance to Narragansett Bay. The fort is so big that only two forts in its “family”, the Third System, are larger. Fort Monroe National Monument in Newport News, VA and Fort Jefferson of Dry Tortugas National Park in Key West, FL are both run by the National Park Service.

The original brains behind this fort was a U.S. Army officer, Joseph Gilbert Totten. He had enormous recruiting power and brought promising recent graduates from West Point to the fort to provide them with further education. This system was so well-known in the military that during the American Civil War, the U.S. Naval Academy moved from Annapolis, MD to Newport and assigned students to the fort. The work of Totten earned him a promotion to Chief Engineer in the Army, where he lead the Army Corps of Engineers. One of his best known engineering feats was the invention of Totten shutters. These iron doors covered the embrasure or opening in the wall where the cannon balls were fired. The doors acted as a safety feature, since they closed between cannon firings to protect the soldiers inside from enemy fire.

The fort was active between 1841 and the 1950s, meaning it was technically a participant in the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. During the latter war, the fort hosted dances for soldiers to meet local women; on a previous tour, a visitor had described these fun events to the tour guide, gushing over the tasty desserts during sugar rationing and the availability of young men in uniform. Despite its wide range of uses, the fort was never attacked. A probable reason was an annual event when ambassadors and media were invited to see all the cannons fired at once across the harbor, which demonstrated how well the area was protected. Even if a boat managed to land, the layers of walls and underground tunnels created multiple slaughtering grounds for enemy troops. Unfortunately for the fort, when a site is never part of a battle, it tends to be excluded from the history books.

The Army handed over the fort to the Navy in 1953. Neglect did not set in right away. Some of the casemates, spaces that previously had held cannons, had been turned into fancy officers quarters, the perfect space to raise a military family. Thirty-fourth U.S. President Dwight David Eisenhower turned the mansion that had previously been the house of the commanding officer into his summer vacation spot; the house is now a wedding venue and has self-guided tours on Mondays. Since visiting the fort, I met a man who grew up in the area and fondly remembered Eisenhower waving to local children, along with less fondly remembering stray practice torpedos ending up on his family’s property.

The State of Rhode Island received the property to become a park in 1965 but apparently were not sure what to do with it. The tour guide related a story from a visitor about how she and her teenage friends had regularly burned the grass on the parade, cheerfully confessing to arson of a state property. State Senator Erich A. O’D. Taylor got involved during the 1970s, allowing the fort to be declared a national landmark; a plaque dedicated to his work stands outside the fort. Beginning in the 1980s, the Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival were held on the grounds and provided opportunities for the fort to be recognized as a cultural venue. At last, the non-profit Fort Adams Trust formed in the 1990s to provide tours and restoration to the fort. Much work must still be done to preserve the structure.

The Guided Tour lasted for seventy-five minutes and thoroughly covered the entire history of the fort and all the areas typically open to the public. Tickets for this tour cost $20 for adults; $15 for military, seniors, & college students; $10 for youth ages 6 to 17, and $0 for children age 5 and under. A special family package of two adults and up to four youth is $50. Group tours and overnight stays are also available, but leaders must make reservations at least two weeks ahead of time. There is a $1.20 booking fee per ticket if these are ordered online, but the convenience is worth the additional cost.

While the fort has plenty of well-maintained informational signs, the Self-Guided Tour would not include the many stories shared by the excellent guide having learned them on previous tours, and the tunnels would be closed. However, this may be the better option for those with limited mobility, as the parade is flat and easy to navigate, while the Guide Tour includes many stairs and low ceilings. The fort is closed during the winter, but during its regular season, tours are held at 2:00 p.m. on weekdays and on the hour between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on weekends. This is a must-see for military enthusiasts and a great trip for scouting groups, youth groups, and family events. As someone who has visited hundreds of historic sites, this was truly one of the best tours I have experienced.

Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 10/10

Accessibility: 8/10