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GoXplr Website: https://www.goxplr.com/
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The official theme song for my channel, “City of Steam”, was originally composed by my friend, Jesse Walsh! Check out the full song here on his YouTube channel:    • [JMASS THEME] City of Steam  

On Hog Island Ledge, a small island off the coast of the city of Portland, Maine in the middle of the Casco Bay, sits the deteriorating ruins of an isolated Civil Warera fortification. Fort Gorges, named for Sir Ferdinando Gorges (founder of the Province of Maine in 1622), is an abandoned island fort only accessible by boat; however, there is no ferry service to the fort, meaning that one must utilize their own private vessel to reach it. Tom Riley from GoXplr and I decided to take out some kayaks from Bug Light Park in South Portland, boating across the choppy waters until we reached Hog Island Ledge and Fort Gorges itself. This isolated landmark is an iconic piece of Portland's rich and storied military history, making up one of many coastal harbor defenses scattered across the Casco Bay.

Construction of Fort Gorges first began in 1858, officially completing in 1865 towards the end of the American Civil War. Ironically, upon its completion, advancements in explosive warfare had modernized so much since it began that the fort was rendered obsolete and essentially unfit for military use as a fortification. By the SpanishAmerican War in 1898, all 34 10inch Rodman guns mounted at Fort Gorges were scrapped and removed, leaving only a 300pounder Parrott rifle (which still remains at the fort to this very day). Following this action, Fort Gorges was largely relegated to a storage facility of sorts to the military; by World War II, it was used to store submarine cables and mines. Following the war's end, in 1946, it was declared surplus, and by 1960, the City of Portland had acquired it. Ever since then, Fort Gorges has been open to the public, accessible to anyone with a boat.

Tom and I had wanted to visit Fort Gorges for many years now, and I am so excited that he was able to join me on this journey! I have explored many abandoned forts on this channel, but Fort Gorges was by far one of the coolest; this huge abandoned island fort was truly a unique urban exploration experience. With two levels of the fort, several rooms and hallways, and twists and turns at every path, Fort Gorges was like a mysterious labyrinth to navigate. This was one of the coolest ruins Maine had to offer, and I had a blast exploring it. Shout out to Tom Riley from GoXplr for joining me, and thank you for bringing those kayaks! If you guys liked this video, make sure to stay tuned for more exploration videos all across New England!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Go...

00:00 JMASS Intro
00:41 Introduction to Fort Gorges
03:58 Entrance to the Fort
05:59 First Level of the Fort
29:07 Second Level of the Fort
37:11 Top of the Fort
44:09 Return to the First Level
49:09 Fort Gorges Exterior
51:46 Outro
55:08 Drone Shots