breathing life into Fort Stark State Park

Throughout its long life keeping a careful watch over Portsmouth Harbor, Fort Stark has never been attacked. No ship of war has sent cannonballs crashing through its sturdy walls, and no land attack penetrated its fortifications during World Wars I or II. But visiting the fort today is like touring a stone coffin. Much of the gray concrete has crumbled into dust, and broken glass litters the buildings like multicolored shrapnel. The fort retired from active duty just after World War II, and this once proud military installation has fallen into a state of disrepair.  

It is easy to drive past Wild Rose Lane in New Castle without realizing that at its terminal is one of New Hampshire’s hidden treasures. Down the wooded lane and past stately homes, Fort Stark State Park is nestled on the northeastern cove of Little Harbor, a section of land historically called Jerry’s Point. One of seven forts built to protect Portsmouth Harbor from attacks by sea, the earliest stonework is thought to have been laid in 1842, with additional fortifications made in 1873, 1898 and during World War II.

Today, a tall rusted flagpole stands erect behind the outward facing forts. The crumbling structures that surround the flagless pole are awash in graffiti and littered with garbage and debris. Many of the gray and red brick buildings are scarred with cracks, and weeds spring from the wounds.

Little Harbor itself is a picture of serenity, framed by Fort Stark’s rocky beaches. Odiorne Point State Park, a popular Seacoast destination, is visible across the sparkling water. In an average year, about 120,000 visitors enter the gates at Odiorne Point to take advantage of its seven different habitats, extensive trail network, instructional programs and sheer coastal beauty. The Seacoast Science Center sits like a crown on Odiorne’s shore, and the entire park seems to cast a shadow over Fort Stark.

Both parks are owned and operated by the N.H. Division of Parks and Recreation, but they differ drastically in appearance, maintenance and number of visitors. New Hampshire only has 18 miles of coastline, a tiny fraction of which is state parks. Why, then, is this 10-acre gem on Jerry’s Point left barren? What would it take to clean up the park, make it safe and create an accessible resource for Seacoast residents to enjoy? 

The state Division of Parks and Recreation acquired part of the property in the 1960s and made a subsequent acquisition in the 1980s. The park once included a visitor center, but it closed in the early 1990s due to lack of visitation, according to Johanna Lyons, planning and development specialist for the Division of Parks and Recreation. “Cultural tourism is going through a shift,” Lyons said. “We’re competing with a wider range of recreational pursuits. We’re competing with theme parks and water slides. We offer great views and fresh air, but it’s hard to capture people’s imagination sometimes.”

According to Amy Bassett, marketing director for the Division of Parks and Recreation, there are no current plans for development or restoration of Fort Stark. Because there are historic structures in the park, any such plans would have to involve collaboration with the Division of Historical Resources. This compounds the difficulty of creating a coherent plan for Fort Stark. “Being a cultural resource site, it’s not meant to be a developed recreation area,” Lyons said. “We have to honor why it’s being preserved.” But one look at the crumbling facades begs the question of what kind of preservation is being done.

According to Jim McConaha, director and state preservation officer for the N.H. Department of Cultural Resources, the buildings have been neglected for years.

“Once they fell out of use, they basically just sat there. There has been virtually no investment in these sites. The sad thing is that there is so much history in these structures, and even though they are crumbling artifacts, there is so much left to tell a story,” McConaha said. “There is no comprehensive plan to develop those sites as historic attractions.”

Creating a historic attraction would require stabilizing the structures, restricting access to certain areas, creating an educational guide and providing other passive recreational opportunities like picnic tables and bathroom facilities, McConaha said.

Stabilizing the buildings would benefit the historic integrity of the site and improve safety conditions for visitors. Safety at the park is a serious concern for New Castle Police Corporal Don White, who said police conduct regular patrols of the park and routinely respond to trespassing complaints. Barbed wire fences surround the buildings, but have not stopped juveniles from breaking in and spray-painting the interior.

“It’s really not a secure premises,” White said, referring to the sheer drops, crumbling concrete and exposed asbestos. “(It’s) really too bad, because it’s a beautiful spot.” White suggested posting no trespassing signs in the area, repairing holes in fences and welding doors shut.

Protecting the precious coastal environment is another concern. At Odiorne Point, the N.H. Department of Environmental Services’ Coastal Program partnered with the Division of Parks and Recreation to restore the salt marsh and repair the boat launch.

“We are always open to working with the state Parks Department,” said Beth Lambert, coastal restoration coordinator for the DES. But in the two years that Lambert has been with the Coastal Program, Fort Stark has yet to come up as a potential site for restoration work. Such a project would entail removing invasive plant species, restoring salt marshes, creating resource management plans and improving the infrastructure for public access (i.e. creating boat launches, improving parking lots, maintaining trails and installing interpretive signs). The DES and Parks Department would also have to consider the park’s historical resources. “Both are important, and so it’s important to take both resources into account,” Lambert said.    

Odiorne Point State Park stands as a shining example of collaboration between multiple agencies and a nonprofit organization. The 135-acre park includes tidal pools, woodlands, an old military fort, salt marshes, rocky beaches and the Seacoast Science Center. Prior to the establishment of the SSC in 1992, naturalist programs were conducted out of the old Toby Visitor Center. The programs were so popular that a group of citizens formed a Society of Friends to raise money for a year-round facility. Finishing touches to an additional 3,000-square-foot interactive learning studio are just being completed for the upcoming summer season.  

According to Karen Provazza, marketing director of the SSC, Odiorne provided an optimal location for the science center. “It is the only natural, undeveloped piece of property on the New Hampshire coastline,” Provazza said. “(The SSC) connects visitors to nature and hopefully, in turn, promotes an effort of stewardship that lasts a lifetime.”

The park collects admission fees during the summer season, and the science center charges a separate fee, part of which goes toward payments on its 99-year lease with the state. Provazza was not sure if something similar to the science center would be feasible at Fort Stark.

Others felt such an endeavor would be extremely difficult, largely because of the fort’s awkward location. “My guess is it’s a little off the beaten path,” Lambert said. “Another part of that is that there is so much offered at Odiorne. You have facilities there, you have a science center and you have a playground,” Bassett said.

So why not create facilities or a playground at Fort Stark? For starters, the lack of funding would be a difficult obstacle to overcome. No admission fee is charged at the fort, and adding facilities would require the financial and human resources of many different agencies. For the time being, no one seems to have the will to breathe new life into Fort Stark.