Welcome to
Old Fort Western

ACCESSIBILITY AND ADA COMPLIANCE

Please be aware that the main garrison is an original 1754 building, and the blockhouses are 1920 reconstructions. Therefore not all areas are wheelchair accessible. Fort Western is working to comply with all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  If you require special accommodation, please contact us at least two weeks before your visit. We will make every effort to meet specific needs. Please note: unless a certified service animal, animals are not permitted.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES

While visiting, you are welcome to take pictures from your phone; however, we ask you not to take videos unless you call ahead and gain permission first. 

The Howard Family Home, 1767-1850s

Captain James Howard purchased the Fort lot and surrounding land in 1767 for 500 Dollars. William and Samuel Howard, Captain Howard's Sons, ran the S & W store and blacksmith shop out of the South end of the garrison. William Howard, and his family, lived in the north garrison. Samuel Howard, a sea captain, moved to Boston and stayed there until the 1780s when he moved back to the fort garrison. Upon his death in 1799, a probate inventory was conducted listing all items within the rooms of the garrison building. Since he and his brother William owned everything equally, the inventory listed everything and then split the value. Through listed items within each room, we gain insight into the use of each room. Also, in 1781, the blacksmith shop was removed from the south garrison, a new cellar was dug, and rooms were built to mirror the garrison's north end where William and his family lived. Captain Howard and his second wife, Susanna Cony, moved in 1782 and stayed there until the Captain died in 1787. The store was relocated to a new building just north of the north block house in 1784. At the time, Fort Western was located in what became Hallowell Township in Lincoln County. Augusta broke from Hallowell Township in 1797, and Kennebec County was established on February 20, 1799, from portions of Cumberland and Lincoln Counties. William's and Samuel's descendants. lived in the garrison until the 1850s.

Tenement House, 1850-1920

In the mid-1850s, the Howard family descendants moved out of the old garrison building, and it became a tenement. The garrison was split up into up to eight tenement apartments to house Augusta’s burgeoning working class, particularly those who worked in the Mills of Augusta and Hallowell. The Fort was mentioned often in the Kennebec Journal and was considered the “mean” part of town.

Restoration of Fort Western 1919-Present

The Fort taken by the City of Augusta through eminent domain in 1919 was turned over to James Howard's descendants, William H Gannett and Guy P Gannett, in 1920. The Gannett's renovated the garrison and built two new blockhouses patterned after the original blockhouse still standing at Fort Halifax (Winslow, Maine). Since Fort Western and Fort Halifax were constructed in 1754 by Gershom Flagg and Sons, housewrights out of Boston, it was logical to assume the existing block house in Winslow would be similar to the one initially built at Fort Western. The Gannett's then gifted the building back to the City of Augusta, and it opened as a museum on July 4th, 1922. In 1976, Fort Western became a National Historic Landmark. As part of the project to build the new Augusta City Hall in 1983, archaeological investigations were conducted to find evidence of outbuildings and fortifications of the Fort before reconstruction. As part of that process, archaeological evidence of the trading post at Cushnoc was discovered. Using written documents such as the probate inventory, account books, and muster rolls in conjunction with the archaeological collection, the Fort was reconstructed and furnished. Fort Western and Fort Halifax have the distinction of having the two oldest standing French & Indian War-era wooden buildings in the country: the Fort Western garrison and the Fort Halifax blockhouse.

If fellow guests do not follow the Tavern Rules, you can pay to place them in the pillory. Those placed in the pillory can pay the fine to be released.

S & W Howard Store & Tavern Tankards are available for purchase. These tankards are hand-made by Sprinkle Pottery in Texas and reflect examples from the Fort Western Archaeological Collection. Steven Sprinkle has recently retired, and these tankards will be the last of their kind.

The S & W Howard Store, a significant part of Augusta's history, was in operation from 1767 to 1807. For forty years, the store sold goods, predominately through bartering, to the local settlers. Five account books survive, dating between 1767 and 1807. The pages of these ledgers contain a wealth of information about the settlers, the growth of economic activity in the area, and the burgeoning political center of Augusta. The value of products purchased and bartered is listed. Looking through the pages of these books, it is apparent that the store was more than a store. It was the early Hallowell town meeting hall, tavern, and bank.

For more information, please visit augustamaine.gov/oldfortwestern call (207)626-2385, or like Old Fort Western—Augusta, Maine, on Facebook. Fort Western is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, protect, and interpret the National Historic Landmark, Fort, Store, and House on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine.