Sachuest Point History

Sachuest Point
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge
Middletown, R.I. 02842 (401) 847-5511
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Sachuest Point History
Contents: 1942 - END OF WORLD WAR II ARMY USE NAVY USE END OF WORLD WAR II - 1967 1967-1970 1970 - Present

1942 - END OF WORLD WAR II
Sachuest Point became a military post in 1942 , after the U.S. entered World War II, when St George's school (the school is prominent on the hill to the west of here) which had purchased 258 acres here in 1925, sold 184.1 acres to the Army and Navy for $102,500.

ARMY USE

The Army utilized approximately 32 acres, which included Sachuest Point itself and the southern portion of land, as a fire control point for coastal shore batteries located just to the east across the Sakonnet River at Sakonnet Point.

Sakonnet Point Military Reservation had been designated Fort Church by a War Department order of 1 May 1940. This was in honor of Rhode Island's Colonel Benjamin Church, a Citizen-Soldier of the Colonial Era. Fort Church had three batteries of Guns to defend the coastal area from enemy ships:

Battery Gray with two 16" guns, each with a 26 mile range, capable of hitting Gay Head on Martha's Vineyard, No Man's Land, and Cuttyhunk,
Battery Reilly with two 8" seacoast guns, and
Battery 212 with two 6" rapid fire guns.

The Army camouflaged a fire control point at and around the southern-most part of Sachuest Point to appear to enemy ships or planes as a seaside farm. These structures were in support of the fire control mission of this installation and have since been demolished:

A concrete and wood frame structure providing quarters for fire control operators, designed to look like a domestic cottage,
A 100 foot steel radar tower, painted to look like a water tower,
A fire control observation and equipment structure, designed to look like a barn,
A concrete 70' circular observation platform, designed to look like a silo,
Anti-aircraft searchlights,

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NAVY USE

The Navy used approximately 150 acres of what is now Sachuest Point during the war years as small arms firing ranges for officers and enlisted men to train in the use of rifles and pistols. One set of ranges faced north from what is now the Visitor's Center and one faced southeast. The ranges were mostly 200 yards but one went to 300 and 500 yards. An extensive network of concrete barricades was built on the site along with barracks, ammunition magazines, and other structures.
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Colonel Benjamin Church

Fire Control Operator's Quarters/(Cottage)

Radar Tower/(Water Tower)

Fire Control Observation & Equipment/(Barn)

Circular Observation Platform/(Silo)

END OF WORLD WAR II - 1967

After World War II, the Army installation was deactivated and the Navy mission was redirected from small arms training to a role as a communications station. Eight antenna were constructed with associated cabling and service structures. The range barricades were disassembled or buried.
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1967 - 1970

In 1967, St. George's School sold about 80 acres of its marsh land, including 200 yards of Second Beach in the neck area along the entrance road, to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.
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1970 - Present

In 1970, the Audubon Society of Rhode Island donated this land to the Department of the Interior who designated it as the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge. Subsequent release of Army and Navy land holdings resulted in the present 244 acre refuge, open to the public 365 days a year.

You may still see some remnants of the Army/Navy years such as roads, foundations, and rubble in your walks.
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On Location! - Take a Virtual Tour of Sachuest Point and Identify its Inhabitants!

Bird Song Central - The Bird Song Matching Game!

Related Books (The Tomorrow Fund, A Rhode Island based Nonprofit Charity For Kids with Cancer, Gets a Portion of Each Book Sold)
Click to Order!	Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island: A Guide to the Natural and Historic Wonders of the Ocean State Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island By Ken Weber A Rhode Island hikers resource for over ten years, Walks and Rambles provides descriptions of forty natural areas including maps, driving directions, and descriptions of sights on the trail. Other important information such as degree of difficulty, time, and best time of year to visit are described as well, making Walks and Rambles a knapsack necessity.
Click to Order!	More Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island: More Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island By Ken Weber If you enjoyed his original Walks and Rambles in Rhode Island, you'll enjoy this companion book with forty additional walks described. These walks include more of the hidden gems of Rhode Island you wouldn't want to miss. Sachuest Point is featured on page 61.

Comments or Suggestions? Email me at bigbear01@ids.net