Plum Island MR
Loc. 137A Plum Island was a WWII Fire Control site on Plum Island in Newbury MA.
Completed in 1943 on a 1.6-acre permit (No. 43-323) from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for $4,355, this square, one-story concrete fire control station served Battery 103/Seaman at Fort Dearborn. The station was manned by eight men, six manning the azimuth instruments and two in the AAIS OP-2. Camouflage for the station was provided by tone down paint and the dune it was built on. The reinforced concrete walls were eight inches thick which deviates from the typical ten to twelve. Inside, electric power was furnished from a M5 generator and heat was provided by a cannon stove. Telephone lines from Salisbury Beach provided connection back to Fort Dearborn. After the war, the lot was returned to the Fish and Wildlife Service and was used by the Massachusetts National Guard to store explosives. Around 1953, the guard blew the station up in a training exercise. The dune the station was on is off limits, but chunks of concrete still remain in the area from its demolition. Located in the Parker Rover Wildlife Refuge. No public access.
SOURCES and REFERENCES
Formerly Used Defense Sites USACE
HD Portsmouth Annex 1945
Report of Completed Works 1943
Gerald W. Butler