Friday - An early morning visit to Fort Phoenix

Today I will share a few shots from an early morning walk to Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven, MA

Now I have mentioned that I don't go there often, especially when the sunrise is early, as they have signs on the street outside the park saying no parking between 10 PM and 6 AM, and at the moment sunrise is 5:10 AM, and I get there about 4:15.

But I did swing by there about a week ago after I had done a sunrise walk at another spot, and got talking to a guy there, and I asked him what time they unlock the gates to the parking area.

And he told me that the gates unlocked its just a pin you pull out and you can open the gates, and basically whoever gets there first opens the gate.

I did feel silly the amount of times I have been there saw the gate closed, and headed somewhere else, but I did head there a couple of days ago, stopped the car, opened the gates and went on in, and these are photos from that day.

A little history of the Fort
Fort Phoenix is a former American Revolutionary War-era fort located at the entrance to the Fairhaven-New Bedford harbor, south of U.S. 6 in Fort Phoenix Park in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The fort was originally built in 1775 without a name, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Just off the fort, in Buzzards Bay, was the first naval engagement of the American Revolution, the Battle off Fairhaven on 14 May 1775.

On 5–6 September 1778, the fort was destroyed by the British when they raided the harbor. A force under Major Israel Fearing drove off the British, both at the fort and when they attempted an attack on the town the next day. The fort was then renamed Fort Fearing. In 1784, it was given the name "Fort Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rose from its own ashes.

The fort was rebuilt in 1798, and rebuilt again in 1808 with 12 guns, with Commonwealth resources