1697 - Ft Mary Moved to Winter Harbor

To strengthen the position of the fort, and better defend the water entry to Biddeford, Fort Mary was moved to Winter Harbor.  The fort on top of Saco Falls became an outpost of the original fort.  The new fort sports a 29 foot stone tower, with walls six feet thick, encompasing a quadrangle 108 feet square.  Eighteen cannon defended the structure, six of them 18 pounder Naval guns.

The construction of these forts deeply concerned eastern Indians, whose plight was seeming to follow the Iroquois.  Lacking French aid to destroy the forts, and fearing the English would further enlist the Mohawks agains them, 13 Abenaki sagamores representing tribes from Saco to Passamaquoddy came to Ft Mary in August 1693 to talk peace.  They agreed to submit to the English Crown, restore any captives they held, resume trade with the English, and to avoid the French.

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