The Fort at Pearson Hobbstown

 

The Fort at Pearson Hobbstown

When the first proprietors began planning a settlement on the lands that would eventually become Standish, they faced a difficult and uncertain task. The area was remote, roads were few, and relations with Native peoples remained unsettled. Although the proprietors were eager to establish families on their new lands, they recognized that settlement could not safely proceed without some means of protection.

The need for a fortified place became increasingly urgent as reports of hostilities reached the eastern settlements of Massachusetts. For the men and families who hoped to make their homes at Pearson Hobbstown, a fort would provide not only a place of refuge in times of danger, but also the security necessary for the settlement itself to survive.

The proprietors soon decided that it would be necessary to erect a fort before settlement could safely begin. In May of 1752, Captain Humphrey Hobbs and twenty grantees petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts for permission and assistance to build a fort in the new settlement of Pearson Hobbstown. Their petition read as follows:

“That as there has been no settled or established peace as was then expected since the time said grant was made they have committed many hostility in the eastern parts of the Province where this land lies, the grantees have been and are still under very great discouragements, nor dare they at present venture to settle in such a remote place till a great barrier to those parts of the province were it well settled, they most humbly pray the wise consideration of Your Honor and this Great and General Court on the promises and grant them a suitable guard while settling which, if they obtain, they will allow or be very speedy in, or that longer time of bringing forward that Plantation be allowed and that they may obtain the same favor as was granted to Gorham Town who had a fort built them at the charge of this province for their defence; or otherwise to relieve your petitioners as your Honours in your great wisdom shall meet.”

The money to build the fort was not granted. Consequently, on April 16, 1753, the proprietors voted to erect the walls of a blockhouse, one hundred feet square and ten feet high, with spurs, or flankers, at opposite corners, each twenty feet square. The proprietors agreed to furnish the necessary funds.

A committee consisting of Moses Pearson, Joshua Freeman, and James Lunt was chosen to prepare a plan for the fort, or blockhouse. On January 29, 1754, the proprietors voted to reduce the dimensions of the proposed structure.

The following year, Moses Pearson petitioned the General Court for assistance. His petition, dated May 28, 1755, stated:

“To His Excellency Wm. Shirley Esq. Capt. General and Commander of ye Province
The Honorable his Majesty’s Council and House of Representatives in General Court Assembled; May 28, 1755.

Moses Pearson of Falmouth in the County of York in ye province showeth that he with a number of others to whom was granted a tract of land at Sebago Pond for several years past been at great labor and in bringing forward a settlement on ye lands. Have cleared roads, built bridges and sundry houses on the same. But much discouraged by the unsettled state with Indians. In the year 1754 ye proprietors and settlers fearing to live separately agreed to build a strong place for the reception of a number of families.

Accordingly, the foundation is 80 feet square with two flankers, one thirty feet, the other of 15 feet square, two stories high. Had got the same almost completed, being out of provisions, left it to go down to Falmouth to get a fresh supply of stores. Which opportunity some Indians who were hunting in that part of the country took to set fire to the same and consumed great part thereof.

Since which the proprietors have repaired the same. Built a number of houses inside against the walls into which the inhabitants are removed to the number of about 30 men, women and children. The proprietors being sensible of the importance of their settlement being carried on and kept, more especially in case of war opens with Indians. Have got into the same one carriage gun, small wall piece, and fixed each man with arms and ammunition and keep nine of them in pay for the care and defense thereof, lying in the greatest pass of the Indians to and from our settlement through Sebago Pond, the Long Pond and Songo River to St. Francis.

Sebago Pond being but two miles and half from ye Garrison and Saco River about three miles and an half, it will if kept be a good course to Gorhamtown, Marblehead, and Narragansett. The inhabitants and proprietors by reason of the rumors of war and threats from the Indians are not able to go on with the settlement without the aid and assistance of ye Excellency and honors therefore pray your relief as if in ye wanted wisdom you shall think meet and as in duty bound shall ever pray.”

The committee of Moses Pearson, Joshua Freeman, and Joseph Lunt had previously reported to the proprietors that, although the fort was nearly completed, it had been partially destroyed by fire:

“As you have been informed the same is consumed by fire in part which will cost considerable to repair the same; therefore we are of the opinion that the proprietors forthwith vote a sum of money sufficient for the same, and set a number of hands to repairing said fort.”

The proprietors accepted the committee’s recommendation and voted for additional funds for rebuilding the fort on May 28, 1754. The appropriation included money for the construction of several barracks, or houses, inside the walls where prospective occupants could live.

Those who built the barracks within the fort were Samuel Knowles, John Walker, Thomas Morton, James Canadage, and Thomas Stevens. While the workmen repaired the fort, guards were employed to protect the settlement. Daniel Mosure, James Gilkey, Jonathan Illsley, Thomas Morton, Benjamin Titcomb, and Daniel Illsley were paid eight pounds for their service.

On April 16, 1755, a ten-shilling tax was voted to be levied on each right to pay the wages and subsistence of eight men on duty for one month, beginning April 11. The tax was later increased to twenty shillings to cover two months of service.

Those employed were John Burnal, John Meserve, Clement Meserve Jr., Elijah Durham, Wentworth Stuart, Timothy Cracker, Israel Thorne, and Joseph Meserve. These men were probably all inhabitants of the town at that time.

Work on the fort was completed in time for it to be occupied in the fall of 1755.

A Fort at the Heart of the Settlement

The completion of the fort marked an important step in the effort to establish a permanent settlement at Pearson Hobbstown. What had begun as a grant of largely unsettled wilderness now had roads, bridges, houses, fields, and, most importantly, a fortified place where families could gather for protection.

The fort was more than a military structure. For the settlers, it was a place of refuge, a home for families, and a symbol of their determination to remain on the land despite the dangers and hardships they faced. The fact that approximately thirty men, women, and children were living within its walls demonstrates how closely the safety of the settlement was tied to the fort.

The records also give us a glimpse of the people who made this early settlement possible. Proprietors such as Moses Pearson, Joshua Freeman, and James Lunt organized and financed the work, while men such as Samuel Knowles, John Walker, Thomas Morton, James Canadage, and Thomas Stevens constructed the buildings. Others stood guard, supplied provisions, and performed the many tasks necessary to maintain the settlement.

Today, the fort itself is gone, but the story preserved in these early records provides an important connection to Standish's beginnings. The settlers who gathered behind its walls were among the people who transformed the wilderness around Sebago into a community. Their efforts, their fears, and their determination are an important part of the story of how Standish came to be.

Taken from the unpublished History of Standish by Dana E. Edgecomb