01907 Winter 2022

WINTER 2022 | 17
A military tower built during World
War II overlooks East Point in
Nahant.
Harbor Defenses of Boston.
All in all, Nahant has five fire control stations. U.S. Army personnel at
the stations were on lookout for approaching enemy aircraft, ships, and
submarines. Equipment in these stations were EE-91 telephones, a time
interval bell, and a depression position finder instrument.
“The assignment was to locate enemy planes and/or ships, determine
their position through intricate plot finding, and make ready to fire upon
them if needed,” said Tarmy.
By the end of the war no crafts of any type had been fired upon by the
Nahant guns, in 1945 all observation details were canceled, and in 1946
the guns of Fort Ruckman were tested for the final time with a warning
to the residents of Nahant issued via a Lynn newspaper to close the windows
and protect fine china “from the percussive impact of the firing.”
In 1946, the Harbor Defenses of Boston were deactivated, and in
March of 1951, the General Services Administration conveyed the Fort
Ruckman Military Reservation to the Town of Nahant, and then the
Cold War started.
In 1952, the Harris estate fire control station was reactivated. Its new
purpose was for long-range air defense radar. A year later, an M33 radar
and fire control system was installed in East Point and a new long-range
radar was placed on top of the Harris tower.
The Harris Estate tower was finally terminated in 1958 when that
radar became outdated and the towers gradually became part of the town
landscape.
“The towers have been around for my entire life. They are an important
part of Nahant’s history,” said Tarmy.
She said that the view from the top of the Mifflin Estate tower was
just spectacular, and the visitors could see for miles “even without Army
issued spy glasses.”
07
BY OKSANA KOTKINA
PHOTOS BY SPENSER HASAK
Ever stop and wonder about the history and purpose
of the town’s military towers? Local historians
explain that the towers — and this small municipality
— played a vital role in the coastal defense of the US
during World War II.
“Throughout the ages, humans have defended their
villages from hostiles by posting lookouts in strategic
areas. Nahant is no different,” said Executive Director
of Nahant Historical Society Julie Tarmy.
According to Military Annals of Nahant, a book
written by Gerald Butler, a retired captain in the
Massachusetts State Guard, prior to America’s
involvement in World War II, intelligence showed
that Germany was developing long-range bombers
that would be based in the Azores with the express
function of bombing America’s coast.
For that end, on Sept. 25, 1940, the U.S. Secretary
of War approved a secret modernization of coastal defenses.
Nahant was already part of the coastal defense
for the Boston Harbor, and following the declaration
of war in 1941, plans were drawn up for the first fire
control station in Nahant.
Thus, the first tower was constructed on Colby Hill
in 1943. The first Nahant station, officially designated
Location 130, Site 1-A, had a primary function
to provide data for specific gun batteries within the
In watchtowers like this one
overlooking 40 Steps in Nahant,
coast watchers scanned the air and
ocean for German invaders.