Fort Knox's $7.9 Million Repair Bill Tops Maine's Historic-Site Needs

The nonprofit that manages Fort Knox in Prospect says the upkeep of the 19th-century fort never ends, and its largest repairs will likely need millions of dollars and more help from the state, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Mason David Leeman has spent about a dozen seasons repointing the fort with a traditional lime mortar that lets moisture pass through. Modern mortar used in past repairs trapped water and ground bricks to dust. That work alone costs $20,000 to $30,000 a year, said Dean Martin, executive director of the Friends of Fort Knox, which formed in 1991 and has run the site on a state lease since 2012.

The group covers its projects with a portion of ticket revenue, gift shop income, grants and donations rather than state funding. Three big jobs are on hold: repairing the rock wall along the river, fixing flood-prone stone wharves and rebuilding two crumbling furnaces once used to heat cannonballs.

Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands director Andy Cutko testified that the state's 16 historic sites carry roughly $31 million in combined repair and preservation needs, with Fort Knox topping the list at more than $7.9 million. An $18 million bond package for historic site maintenance was carried over in 2025.

The fort, built from 1844 to 1869, draws about 100,000 visitors a year. The friends group also runs the Penobscot Narrows Observatory.

This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.