Odiorne Point State Park

History

The Council for New England issued a grant of 6000 acre and one island to David Thompson on 16 October 1622. Thompson transferred one quarter of this land to investors who equipped the ship Jonathan to sail from Plymouth carrying Thompson and several other men to establish a settlement in the Piscataqua River estuary. Odiorne Point was included in the land selected in the Spring of 1623. Their fortified settlement known as Piscataqua became a rendezvous point for early settlers of the Gulf of Maine.

Odiorne Point is the site of one of the Sunken Forests of New Hampshire. The park is the site of the former Pannaway Plantation, the location of the first European settlement in New Hampshire, and is commemorated by a memorial in the park.

The park was the site of Fort Dearborn from 1942 to 1947. In 1961, the Federal government transferred 137 acres of the fort to the State for $91,000 with the restriction that the land be used for public recreation. Although little maintenance or improvement was done in the next ten years, once picnic areas and restroom facilities were constructed, the park opened in July 1972.

Seacoast Science Center ==

The Seacoast Science Center is the primary facility in Odiorne Point State Park. Exhibits include aquariums, touch tanks, and whale skeletons. There is also a marine mammal rescue center. Indoor and outdoor programs on marine life and conservation are offered for school groups, families, adults, children, and other groups. The center also has environmental day camps up to 8th grade.

Fort Dearborn ==

Prior to 1942, the site of the park was private, expensive oceanfront land. In 1942, during World War II, the site was condemned and purchased by the United States government for the construction of Fort Dearborn as part of an across-the-board modernization of US coast defenses. In 1961 the site was ceded to the state of New Hampshire; the previous owners were not given the opportunity to re-purchase the land.

The fort was named for Henry Dearborn, a major-general in the Revolutionary War and later Commanding General of the United States Army and Secretary of War. The fort was part of the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, along with Fort Stark, Fort Constitution, and Fort Foster. In 1940-1944 the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth were garrisoned by the 22nd Coast Artillery Regiment. The first battery at Fort Dearborn was called Battery Dearborn, and consisted of four 155 mm towed guns on "Panama mounts", which were circular concrete platforms. The platforms remain today.

Fort Dearborn was primarily acquired to build a battery of two 16-inch (406 mm) Mark IIMI ex-Navy guns, heavily protected by concrete and earth casemates. This was completed and test-fired in June 1944, and eventually superseded all other heavy guns in the Harbor Defenses of Portsmouth. It was initially called Battery 103 and later named Battery Seaman in honor of Colonel Claudius M. Seaman.

In 1948 Fort Dearborn was deactivated and all guns were scrapped.

Rye Air Force Station

Main article: Rye Air Force Station

Part of Fort Dearborn was used as a radar station by the United States Air Force beginning in 1949, and in 1955 this became the Rye Air Force Station. This was an Air Defense Command radar site that also supported the nearby Pease Air Force Base of the Strategic Air Command. In 1957-59 Rye AFS was deactivated, but an unmanned "gap filler" radar remained active until 1968. Nothing remains of the Air Force installations.

Gallery

File:SeaSciCtrWhaleSkel01.jpg|Juvenile humpback whale skeleton, inside the Seacoast Science Center File:EDALHAB01.jpg|EDALHAB, an underwater habitat used for saturation diving experiments in Lake Winnipesaukee in the late 1960s, now located outside the Seacoast Science Center. Battery 204, a former 6-inch gun battery, is in the background. File:FortDearLandingMem01.jpg|Memorial to the landing of the first English settlers at Odiorne Point File:FortDear16shells01.jpg|16-inch shells at a 6-inch gun emplacement, Battery 204, Fort Dearborn, near the Seacoast Science Center File:FortDear16Emp01.jpg|16-inch gun emplacement, Battery Seaman, Fort Dearborn File:Odiorne tidal pool.jpg|Tidal pools along the coast

References

References

1. {{cite gnis. 1914446. Odiorne Point State Park
2. [http://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/odiorne-point-state-park.aspx Odiorne Point State Park] (official website)
3. [http://www.seacoastsciencecenter.org/ Seacoast Science Center] (official website)
4. Anderson, Robert Charles. (2024). "1623". American Ancestors.
5. The point got its name from the Odiorne family, who settled on the land in the mid-1660s.Noyes, Libby & Davis (1928-39). ''Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire''. Portland, ME: Genealogical Publishing Co.
6. Charles W. Brewster. "Old Pannaway:First NH Settlement". SeacoastNH.com.
7. [http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Dearborn_(4) Fort Dearborn at FortWiki.com]
8. [http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/New_Hampshire/Fort_Dearborn/history.html Fort Dearborn at NorthAmericanForts.com]
9. Berhow, p. 205
10. The battery remains today. A Plotting, Switchboard, and Radio (PSR) bunker housing a [[plotting room]] as part of the [[Coast Artillery fire control system]] is to the west of Battery 103. A companion battery, Battery 204, consisted of two [[6-inch gun M1. 6-inch (152 mm) M1 guns]] in shielded [[barbette]] mounts with a large bunker between them containing magazines and [[fire-control system
11. "EDALHAB archives at the University of New Hampshire".
12. [http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/nur09518.htm Artist's concept of EDALHAB in operation with support vessel Lulu]
13. (1973). "Evaluation of the undersea habitats - Tektite II, Hydro-Lab, and Edalhab - for scientific saturation diving programs". Helgoländer Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen.
14. (July 2007). "State Lands". New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.
15. Lisa Mausolf, Preservation Consultant. (March 2019). "New Hampshire State Parks: Mid-Century Modern (1945-1975): Historic Context Study". New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation.
16. Beth Daly. (December 4, 2005). "Scientists find evidence of ancient forest". The New York Times Company.