Construction began on Fort Gorges in 1858 in order to protect Portland harbor. But by the time it was finished in 1864 it was already obsolete, as the cannon holds were too small for modern guns.

It was briefly brought back into service during World War II as storage space for submarine mines, but has since been abandoned and left to decay. Today, it sits despondently in the Atlantic Ocean's Casco Bay, sprouting greenery from its ramparts.

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