Oak's Inn Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located in
Misquamicut, Rhode Island
Misquamicut () is a census-designated place and fire district in southern Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. It is part of the town of Westerly, Rhode Island, Westerly. The population was listed as 434 in the 2020 census.
Name
Misqu ...
in the town of
Westerly, overlooking
Misquamicut State Beach
Misquamicut State Beach () is a seaside public recreation area in the town of Westerly, Rhode Island. It occupies a portion of Misquamicut Beach, a barrier island that extends westward from Weekapaug to Watch Hill and separates Winnapaug Pond ...
. It was part of the
Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound
The Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Harbor Defense Command, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of Long Island Sound and Connecticut from ...
. Today, the site is a residential development.
[
]
History
Oak's Inn Military Reservation was built adjacent to the inn of the same name in 1942. The site had four "Panama mount
The Panama Mount is a form of gun mount for fixed coastal artillery developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s. Widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military,
it was typically equipped with ...
s" (circular concrete platforms) for four towed 155 mm (6.1 inch) guns. A battery of two 16-inch (406 mm) guns (Battery Construction Number 114) was proposed for this location but not built. The reservation was deactivated in 1944.[Oak's Inn Mil Res at American Forts Network]
/ref>[Berhow, p. 207]
Present
The inn was demolished in the 1950s and the Panama Mounts and Officers' Quarters were demolished in 2008 for a new housing development.
See also
* Seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence through World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armie ...
* United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artiller ...
References
*
*
External links
List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
FortWiki, lists most CONUS and Canadian forts
{{Forts in Rhode Island
Forts in Rhode Island
Westerly, Rhode Island
Buildings and structures in Washington County, Rhode Island
Demolished buildings and structures in Rhode Island