Conanicut Cannons LbNA #4428 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jun 21, 2003 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Jamestown |
| County: | Newport |
| State: | Rhode Island |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Planted by: | The von der Insels  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | roscoe45 |
| Last found: | Feb 19, 2012 |
| Status: | aFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFaaa |
| Last edited: | Jun 21, 2003 |
*** GONE MISSING ***
Here's an easy almost-drive-by. It requires about 15 minutes of walking if you're all business, or a leisurely hour of interesting history. The terrain is a pea-gravel or gentle dirt pathway. It's not far at all from the Beavertail and Island Sanctuary letterboxes!
Jamestown, on Conanicut Island, sits in the middle of Narragansett Bay, overlooking the passages to Newport and Providence. At the outset of the American Revolution the British held Newport and its strategic port. The rebellious Rhode Islanders (and I don't know any other kind!) maintained artillery batteries watching both waterways of Narragansett Bay.
After the British were chased out by the combined French and American armies and the French Navy, the Bay saw peace and prosperity until the onset of the 20th century brought a new spectre of danger to these waters: U-boats. During both World Wars the German Navy sent submarines to prowl the American coastline and sink merchant ships to cripple Great Britain's supply line. Once again, Conanicut Island was manned by soldiers looking out for the enemy. Look for the Canonicut Cannons between the World War I observation posts and the Revolutionary War Earthworks!
Directions:
From Newport, go over the Newport Bridge to Jamestown, staying in the right lane (there's a toll booth, though!). *Immediately* after the tolls, take the exit on the right to town. It's a very short exit that 'tees'. Turn right, following the sign for Jamestown. Going under the bridge, you come to another T. (Look in front of you and a bit to the right is the footpath leading into Island Sanctuary - a fine letterbox in a lovely setting!). At this T turn left for now, heading towards the harbour.
After .8 miles you will come to a stop sign. Isn't Newport pretty from here? Turn right onto Narragansett Avenue (our main street) and proceed carefully up the hill, minding the crowds of pedestrians in the Summer. You will come to a four-way stop, at the only light (a blinking light) on the island. Turn left onto Southwest Avenue, and proceed from *** below.
From Points West, take Route 138 east over the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge (well, Giovanni da Verrazano did notice the Bay in his travels, after all!). Stay in the right lane and admire the old bridge while it lasts, and the view of Dutch Island (a very secure POW camp during WWII). As you land on Conanicut Island you'll take the exit at the foot of the bridge. Roll up to the stop sign, stop please, and go straight along a road that parallels Rte. 138. It ends at a T with North Road. Go right.
You're going to go 2 miles from here. Go up a hill and admire our lovely old windmill on the left atop the hill. Wave 'Hi' to the Society of Friends Meeting Hall and the farm with the Dutch Belted cows. Then down the hill to the salt marsh called 'The Creek', and look left to see if anyone is at the Island Sanctuary letterbox. Wave 'Hi' to them, too. When the 2 miles are up, so is North Road. When North Road reaches a four-way stop at the only blinking light on the island, it changes its name to Southwest Avenue. Go straight onto Southwest Avenue and follow from *** below.
*** Now you're on Southwest Avenue, heading towards Beavertail Light (another fine letterbox!). From the blinking light, it's an easy 1/2 mile to where the road curves right and there's our beach: Mackeral Cove! There are probably boats on both sides of the road. Cruise along the beach, and when it ends you'll see a road on your right leading up to Fort Getty Park and Campground. We're not going there today, but look for a letterbox there in the future!
Go .35 miles past the Fort Getty road, and look right. there's Battery Lane! Turn right onto it, and it will take you .2 miles to the parking lot for the historical site. Park and hoof it from there.
There's just one looping path, beside a sign that talks about the site restoration effort. It soon forks, so let's bear right here. It's a short walk to the open field where the Friends of the Conanicut Battery and the Jamestown Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution and local folks have cleared out the original earthworks from its prisony overgrowth. Stroll about and read the signs around the field. Go into the fort and imagine being a member of the revolution.
After you've enjoyed the view of the West Passage, you're on your way! Across the field from where you entered it the path continues to the Giant Boulder. Take the Giant Boulder Path to, of course, this big 7-foot rock. In front of it is a smaller, longish rock just right to sit on. In the space between the BIG rock and the sitting benchy rock you'll find the last cannon guarding the bay. Be very inconspicuous, since the path is getting very popular for families and youngsters nowadays.
When the Conanicut Cannon is safely stowed, you can keep following the path up a bit of a rise to see the WWI observation posts. Not an attractive post, especially since the very clear view of the bay is now very obstructed by trees! They were quite necessary, though, considering that there were a number of subs chased out of Narragansett Bay! There was even a two-man German reconnaissance submarine that was sunk off of Narragansett. This path will take you back to your car and on to the other Jamestown letterboxes. Happy hunting!
Here's an easy almost-drive-by. It requires about 15 minutes of walking if you're all business, or a leisurely hour of interesting history. The terrain is a pea-gravel or gentle dirt pathway. It's not far at all from the Beavertail and Island Sanctuary letterboxes!
Jamestown, on Conanicut Island, sits in the middle of Narragansett Bay, overlooking the passages to Newport and Providence. At the outset of the American Revolution the British held Newport and its strategic port. The rebellious Rhode Islanders (and I don't know any other kind!) maintained artillery batteries watching both waterways of Narragansett Bay.
After the British were chased out by the combined French and American armies and the French Navy, the Bay saw peace and prosperity until the onset of the 20th century brought a new spectre of danger to these waters: U-boats. During both World Wars the German Navy sent submarines to prowl the American coastline and sink merchant ships to cripple Great Britain's supply line. Once again, Conanicut Island was manned by soldiers looking out for the enemy. Look for the Canonicut Cannons between the World War I observation posts and the Revolutionary War Earthworks!
Directions:
From Newport, go over the Newport Bridge to Jamestown, staying in the right lane (there's a toll booth, though!). *Immediately* after the tolls, take the exit on the right to town. It's a very short exit that 'tees'. Turn right, following the sign for Jamestown. Going under the bridge, you come to another T. (Look in front of you and a bit to the right is the footpath leading into Island Sanctuary - a fine letterbox in a lovely setting!). At this T turn left for now, heading towards the harbour.
After .8 miles you will come to a stop sign. Isn't Newport pretty from here? Turn right onto Narragansett Avenue (our main street) and proceed carefully up the hill, minding the crowds of pedestrians in the Summer. You will come to a four-way stop, at the only light (a blinking light) on the island. Turn left onto Southwest Avenue, and proceed from *** below.
From Points West, take Route 138 east over the Jamestown-Verrazano Bridge (well, Giovanni da Verrazano did notice the Bay in his travels, after all!). Stay in the right lane and admire the old bridge while it lasts, and the view of Dutch Island (a very secure POW camp during WWII). As you land on Conanicut Island you'll take the exit at the foot of the bridge. Roll up to the stop sign, stop please, and go straight along a road that parallels Rte. 138. It ends at a T with North Road. Go right.
You're going to go 2 miles from here. Go up a hill and admire our lovely old windmill on the left atop the hill. Wave 'Hi' to the Society of Friends Meeting Hall and the farm with the Dutch Belted cows. Then down the hill to the salt marsh called 'The Creek', and look left to see if anyone is at the Island Sanctuary letterbox. Wave 'Hi' to them, too. When the 2 miles are up, so is North Road. When North Road reaches a four-way stop at the only blinking light on the island, it changes its name to Southwest Avenue. Go straight onto Southwest Avenue and follow from *** below.
*** Now you're on Southwest Avenue, heading towards Beavertail Light (another fine letterbox!). From the blinking light, it's an easy 1/2 mile to where the road curves right and there's our beach: Mackeral Cove! There are probably boats on both sides of the road. Cruise along the beach, and when it ends you'll see a road on your right leading up to Fort Getty Park and Campground. We're not going there today, but look for a letterbox there in the future!
Go .35 miles past the Fort Getty road, and look right. there's Battery Lane! Turn right onto it, and it will take you .2 miles to the parking lot for the historical site. Park and hoof it from there.
There's just one looping path, beside a sign that talks about the site restoration effort. It soon forks, so let's bear right here. It's a short walk to the open field where the Friends of the Conanicut Battery and the Jamestown Historical Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution and local folks have cleared out the original earthworks from its prisony overgrowth. Stroll about and read the signs around the field. Go into the fort and imagine being a member of the revolution.
After you've enjoyed the view of the West Passage, you're on your way! Across the field from where you entered it the path continues to the Giant Boulder. Take the Giant Boulder Path to, of course, this big 7-foot rock. In front of it is a smaller, longish rock just right to sit on. In the space between the BIG rock and the sitting benchy rock you'll find the last cannon guarding the bay. Be very inconspicuous, since the path is getting very popular for families and youngsters nowadays.
When the Conanicut Cannon is safely stowed, you can keep following the path up a bit of a rise to see the WWI observation posts. Not an attractive post, especially since the very clear view of the bay is now very obstructed by trees! They were quite necessary, though, considering that there were a number of subs chased out of Narragansett Bay! There was even a two-man German reconnaissance submarine that was sunk off of Narragansett. This path will take you back to your car and on to the other Jamestown letterboxes. Happy hunting!