The first known installation on Odiorne's Point and Frost Point in Rye was at the dawn of the English colonies when David Thompson built a blockhouse for the Pannaway Plantation in 1623. The settlement was subsequently abandoned in 1627. In 1670 the John Odiorne Garrison was built however details about it seem to not be known. In 1894 a lifesaving station was built on Odiorne's Point and was active until 1906. In 1902 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a stone breakwater on Frost Point. The breakwater still exists and there is nothing left of any of the other buildings.
During WWI, in 1917 a temporary back-up fire-control station was installed on Odiorne's Point for Battery Hunter in Fort Stark. It was removed in 1918. In 1920 two truck mounted 60" Sperry Searchlights were installed in Frost Point (positions 1 and 2). They were removed in 1921.
Existing coastal defenses were deemed inadequate in WWII and Odiorne's Point and Frost Point were deemed a good location for a new set of batteries. In 1941 four 155mm rapid-fire M1918M1 guns with 240" barrels on M1918M1 tractor drawn mobile carriages were set up temporarily on Frost Point. In 1942 the government purchased the land on Frost Point and Odiorne's Point, notices to vacate were sent to the residents on March 12, 1942 and on April 8, 1942 construction was started on a more permanent emplacement for the 155mm battery on Odiorne's Point and the guns were moved from Frost Point. On April 30, 1942 the emplacement was completed in Odiorne's Point with the four 155mm rapid-fire M1918M1 guns with 240" barrels on M1918M1 tractor drawn mobile carriages on concrete Panama mounts with four 11' by 12' earth covered concrete magazines and a battery commander's station. The battery was discontinued in 1944 when Battery Seaman and Battery Barry were ready for service. The guns were removed and it is unknown where they were sent. Today three of the concrete Panama mounts are still visible.
On April 18, 1942 construction was started on Battery 103 also known as Battery Seaman, named after Colonel Claudius M. Seaman (War Department location 144 site 1A) on Frost Point. It was a massive 500 foot long 55 foot tall reinforced concrete casement with an earth covering. The battery had one level and had a main corridor that connected the two gun bays, one on either side of the battery. Along the main corridor was a ceiling mounted trolley system to move the shells to the guns. There were two motor generator rooms, four store rooms, two shell rooms, two powder rooms, an officer's latrine, a C.W.S. equipment room and a 90 degree corridor to get to the back of the battery. The back of the battery had two air conditioning rooms, a water cooler room, muffler gallery, air compressor room, a work room, a power room and a service core, with a latrine along with the main entrance to the battery. On the top of the battery a reinforced concrete one room combined Battery Commander's Station and G-1 Gun Group Observation Center was built. The battery was finished on August 15, 1943 and was armed with two 16" MarkII-M1 rifles with a 816" barrel on M5 barbette carriages in a concrete casemate. The 16" guns came from Naval battlecruisers that were decommissioned due to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Four 50 caliber drum-fed heavy machine guns and four automatic 40mm mobile AA guns Model M2 with 87" barrels were also installed on the battery. Battery Seaman was controlled directly by the HECP Building at Fort Stark and not by the G-1 Gun Group Command. Battery Seaman was deactivated in 1948 and the guns were removed and sent to an unknown location. Battery Seaman still exists today. The main entrance is covered by a rock and concrete fill. The gun casemates are open but the entrances to the battery are sealed and there is no public entrance in the battery. The Commander's station is still on the top of the battery and is open for public entrance.
Due to the resulting vibrations from firing the 16" guns of Battery Seaman, the plotting room could not be located within the battery itself. A reinforced concrete earth covered casement (location 144 site 1B) was built quite a distance behind Battery Seaman to serve for it's plotting, spotting and radio. The plotting room was connected to base-end stations via telephone. Information given by the base-end stations was put on a plotting board and the instructions on how to fire the guns was sent to the battery via telephone. The plotting room still exists today. Both entrances are covered with a rock and concrete fill and there is no public admittance.
In 1942 the G-1 Gun Group Commanders Command Post (location 144 site 1C) was built on Fort Dearborn on Frost Point near Battery Seaman and the G-1 Gun Group command was transferred from the old mine observation building at Fort Stark to Fort Dearborn in 1942. A one room small reinforced concrete building which had communications with the HECP, G-1 Gun Group Observation Post located on top of Battery Seaman and the batteries that fell within the G-1 Gun Group. Under the command of the HECP at Fort Stark the G-1 Battalion (3rd Battalion) was in charge of Battery Curtis at Fort Foster and Battery Barry at Fort Dearborn. Battery Curtis was never completed and was never manned. The Command Post still stands and is open for public entrance.
Construction was started on January 19, 1943 on Battery 204 which was also known as Battery M.H. Barry, after Lieutenant Colonel Michael H. Barry (location 143 site 1A) on Odiorne's Point. Completed on August 14, 1943, the single story battery was a 144 feet by 99 foot reinforced concrete earth covered casemate that stood 44 feet high. In a design unique to only this 200 series battery, the Battery Commander's Station was built of reinforced concrete on the top of the battery and was accessible by a ladder inside. The main corridor had two store rooms, two powder rooms, six shell rooms, an air compressor generator room, an air compressor and motor service room, access ladder for the commander's station and another corridor at a 90 degree angle. Down the other corridor are the power room, muffler galley, water cooler room, plotting room, switchboard, spotting and radio room and the service core with latrine. The battery was armed with two shielded T2-M1 6" rapid-fire rifles with 302" barrels on M3 barbette carriages. Two automatic 40mm mobile AA guns Model M2 with 87" barrels and two 50 caliber drum-fed heavy machine guns were also installed on the battery. The battery was deactivated in 1948 and the guns were removed and sent to an unknown location. The battery and commander's station still exist today however the battery doors are sealed and there is no public admittance.
On June 10, 1943 the fort was officially named Fort Dearborn, after Major General Henry Dearborn, and roughly twenty buildings were utilized by the fort. Existing buildings were used for barracks and officer's quarters, like the Sugden House, built in 1920, which was used as barracks and the farm house, built in 1900, which was used as the 3rd Battalion Headquarters. A gate house was built on the beach road at the bridge over Seavey Creek. A SCR-268 Radar (location 143 site 1C) for position finding and firing control and a 60" Sperry Searchlight (position 9) on a steel tower (location 143 site 1C) were set up on Odiorne's Point. Corrugated steel Quonset huts, a chapel, and post exchange were also built. Portions of the Sugden House still exist, now incorporated into The Seacoast Science Center building and the old farm house still stands. No other buildings still exist. The Seacoast Science Center has an exhibit on the fort. Their hours are on their site.
A TNT Magazine (location 143 site 1B) was built in a desolate area away from the main fort. Constructed of concrete blocks, the large single room of the magazine stored the TNT for the M4 mines in the harbor mine net controlled by Fort Foster and Fort Constitution. A reinforced concrete earth covered reservoir pump house, which was used for the fire prevention system, was built behind Battery Seaman. The fort was surrounded by barbed wire attached to cedar posts. The TNT Magazine still exists today and appears to be open to public entrance. The pump house still stands today, the entrance is covered with a rock and concrete fill and the top access hatch has been secured. There is no public entrance. Some cedar posts from the barbed wire fence still can be seen in the Seavey Creek Marsh.
In 1948 the fort was deactivated and in 1949 it was declared surplus property. From 1949 to 1959 the U.S. Airforce used the fort as the Rye Air Force Station and in 1961 the land was given to the state of New Hampshire as a state park. All remaining buildings were destroyed between 1971 and 1976.
Prompted by the growing feeling of need for more Harbor Defense during WWII, around 1942 Pulpit Rock Camp was started down the road from Fort Dearborn in Rye New Hampshire. Named after a natural rock cliff face above the water in the ocean, Pulpit Rock Camp was not an official part of Fort Dearborn and was controlled directly by The Portsmouth Harbor Defense Command from the HECP building at Fort Stark. The first building completed at Pulpit Rock Camp was a 55 foot steel frame tower with a two level corrugated steel cab (War Department location 142 site 1A) base-end station. Finished in July of 1942 the top level of the tower was to be a fire control station for Battery Curtis at Fort Foster (station designation B3/6 S3/6) and the bottom level was for Portsmouth Harbor Defense Operations in the HECP building at Fort Stark (station designation HD OPS 1). Battery Curtis was never completed so the top level was never active. The tower was destroyed in the early fifties and no evidence of it remains.
A barracks building was built in 1942, which housed the men of Battery 351, Battery 951 and the two base-end stations located on-site. The exact location of the barracks and what the building looked like have some discrepancy. According to some reports it was a large brick house and according to other reports it was a large wood frame house. The large brick house has been destroyed but the large wood frame house still exists and is now a privately owned residence and there is no public admittance.
In 1943 construction was started, and completed, on AMTB Battery 951 (location 142 site 1B) which consisted of two shielded 90mm M1 rapid-fire guns with 181.10" barrels on fixed M3 mounts on circular reinforced concrete with two earth covered concrete magazines, which was controlled by the G-2 Gun Group at Fort Stark. Two mobile 90mm M1 rapid-fire guns with 181.10" barrels on M1A1 mounts and four drum-fed 50 caliber heavy machine guns were also part of the battery. AMTB Battery 351, which consisted of two mobile 37mm AA guns with 82.68" barrels on M3 mounts, was also activated in 1943. The two 37mm guns of battery 351 were replaced with two mobile 40mm M1 Bofors AA guns with 87" barrels on M3 mounts. Both batteries were deactivated in 1946. The two shielded 90mm M1 guns were removed and put into storage in Battery Seaman at Fort Dearborn. Today the circular reinforced concrete and concrete magazine for gun position one of Battery 951 still exists. Gun position two was destroyed in the sixties and the twisted remains of it are still visible in the beach seawall. A Portable AA searchlight (position 8) was located in Pulpit Rock Camp (location 142 site 1B), which was used at night so the towers could view the ocean.
Finished in June of 1943, Pulpit Rock Base-End Station (location 142 site 2A) is a cylindrical 73 foot 8 story reinforced concrete tower. One of the 14 built for protecting Portsmouth Harbor, Pulpit Rock Base-End Station was used for watching for enemy ships and aircraft and as on of the fire control towers for the batteries at Fort Dearborn. The 8th story served as a base-end station for Battery Barry at Fort Dearborn (station designation B4/1 S4/1) and the 7th story served as a fire control station for Battery Seaman at Fort Dearborn (station designation B8/2 S8/2). The roof was used by the Anti-Aircraft Intelligence Service (station designation AAIS OP7). The 8th story had a depression-position rangefinder instrument in addition. The base-end station still stands today and is owned by New Hampshire Fish and Game. It is open occasionally for tours with the help of The Friends of Pulpit Rock Tower. For tour dates, please see their website.
The entire camp was deactivated in 1948.
