Military · 1917–1919
District Wireless Station Site
1917 Navy radio hut on the north bluff
[HC]High-Confidence Inference43.64400° N, 70.19450° W Suggested 25 min
Historical significance
During the First World War the U.S. Navy operated a small District Wireless Station on Cushing to relay coastal traffic. A single surviving photograph shows a shingled hut with an antenna platform on the roof, looking north toward Munjoy Hill.
Field observations
- A cleared, elevated bench with a clean sight-line toward Portland.
- Guy-wire anchor points and disturbed soil are the most likely surface traces.
- The building itself was small — foundation, if any, would be modest.
Engineering / Landscape reading
Wireless huts of this period needed elevation, a clear northern arc, and grounded antenna anchors — not a fortified footprint. Look for the geometry of the anchors, not the walls.
Detector potential
★★☆☆☆2/5
Likely finds
Ceramic insulator fragmentsCopper antenna wire scrapsSmall brass hardware
A short, focused sweep. Photograph any ceramic insulator or copper wire in place before moving it — these are the diagnostic finds for a wireless site.
Open research questions
- 1.Which of the several elevated benches on the north side matches the sight-line in the 1917 photograph?
- 2.Was the station wired into Fort Levett's fire-control network, or independent of it?
Field actions
From the archive
Nearby