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 Photos by Adam Paul |
| The
Baltimore area is home to several forts, each with their own
interesting history. From world-famous Fort Mc Henry, birthplace
of the Star Spangled Banner to the since closed Fort Holabird, and the
never opened Fort Carroll, it seems every fort in the area has served a
large role in the area's rich military history. However, there is another fort that is not nearly as well known. It does not carry the well-documented folklore of Fort Howard and the Battle of North Point, nor does it carry the supernatural rumors that accompany tiny Fort Garrison. It has however, carried generations of speculation regarding its use and history (to the few who even know it exists), and it still remains today to offer a very fascinating look at just how tense things were in America nearly 150 years ago. The cause of this often enigmatic mystery are a number of ruins that have been a part of the Franklintown landscape since the Grandfather of anyone alive today would ever be able to remember, their origins being a stubborn enigma for many a local historian, subject of folly and debate many decades ago.  This curved wall, whose confines once held several cannons, was for decades a source of gossip and debate among the Baltimoreans privy to know of its existence. Perched on this landscape, adjacent to the historic Crimea Mansion in Leakin Park, and once in plain view of Franklintown Road (before many decades of natural intervention) are the rather intact remains of a fort's ramparts, upon which Cannons were once mounted peering out over a hillside towards the roadway. At the bottom of this hill is one very creepy dungeon carved ito an embankment with stone, and topped near the rear by another small stone structure that now lies in ruin. A very deep stone pit had also existed in this area as well. Some had surmised that this Fort dated as far back as the Revolutionary War, commanding the road adjacent to it, in order to keep the British from invading Baltimore. Similar gossip had estimated that this old bunker instead dated to the War of 1812. However, it seemed that more locals estimated its vintage to coincide with the Civil War, being that the dungeon was strongly reminiscent of that era. Those who dated the fort to the Civil War are correct, at least partly. These ruins do in fact date to the height of the Civil War, but....there is a catch. For alas, the impressive ramparts, for all their imposing glory on the Franklintown landscape, and in the accompany of dungeon and cannons are in reality a hoax. Not a hoax to confuse the future generations, as indeed they have done, but rather a hoax to try to dissuade the Union forces of the time from "despoiling" the Crimea property. This is according to an account given 70 years ago by Mr. Reginald W. Hutton, grandson of Thomas DeKay Winans, who built Crimea as a summer residence following his return to America from building Russia's first railroad from St. Petersburg to Moscow in the 1840's. It seems that Winans, a Southern sypathizer, constructed the curious rock fort in the 1860's, replete with intimidating (but fake and inoperable) cannons trained on the roadside below. This was to deter the Union forces along the road from damaging or overtaking his property. Mr. Winans, himself, did not man the fort, but rather spent much of his time tending to war business in the heart of Baltimore City. So did it work? Not quite, according to the brief account retold by Mr. Hutton. One morning, the gardener appeared in Mr. Winans' office to regretfully announce to him that the troops had despoiled the orchard, and apparently dismantled his fencing to construct campfires. Still, this was the only known damage to the property, so it seems that the troops were at least a bit charitable to the Winans. The fort may not have intimidated them, but one wonders if the weary troops were actually amused by this folly of camoflage. Regardless, Mr. Winans was not so fortunate. Soon after this encounter, he was heralded off to imprisonment at a real fort, the famous Fort McHenry. Only later would his local residence and sypathies be forgiven. Well over a century after the curious ramparts were constructed, they still serve to fascinate and likely confuse the locals who frequent this part of Leakin Park, as they have done since their construction. At least this unusual ghost does carry modest documentation to solve what would otherwise be a baffling mystery.  Set into the bottom of the hillside near the Franklintown Road, this eerie dungeon beckons visitors, who may be advised to approach with a sense of trepidation.  Inside the dungeon, one can see a muddy floor, foreboding walls and darkness, and little else.  Located near the back of the dungeon area, up a slight hill, stood this stone structure that has badly crumbled. One wonders its purpose.  As can be seen here, the fort's walls have crumbled in recent decades, not due to advancing forces, but rather to natural erosion of the hill.  One of the mounts upon which one of the six cannons was perched. One wonders just what happened to these relics.  A view of the "fort" from the late 30's shows it in far better shape, and still adorned by the "cannons." Note how sparse the growth on the nearby hillside was in comparison to today.  A couple of youths explore the mysterious "dungeon" in the late 1930's. Ironically, the growth around it in this era was far more than that of today, making it seem even spookier. INFO ON "FORT" CRIMEA? CONTACT ME! |
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