Fort St. George, named for the patron saint of England

Saint George

Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

, was built in 1607 by Popham Colony

Popham Colony

The Popham Colony was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America that was founded in 1607 and located in the present-day town of Phippsburg, Maine near the mouth of the Kennebec River by the proprietary Virginia Company of Plymouth...

 near Sabino Head, ten miles/15 kilometres south of what is now Bath, Maine

Bath, Maine

Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 9,266. It is the county seat of Sagadahoc County. Located on the Kennebec River, Bath is a port of entry with a good harbor. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its...

, in the town of Phippsburg, Maine

Phippsburg, Maine

Phippsburg is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Kennebec River. The population was 2,106 at the 2000 census. It is within the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical rea...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was abandoned after a year of occupation and is now an archaeological site.

John Hunt, a draughtsman present at the fort when it was built, drew a map showing a star-shaped fort including ditches and ramparts, a storehouse, a chapel and more than fifteen structures. It contained nine guns that ranged in size from demi-culverin

Demi-culverin

The demi-culverin was a medium cannon similar to but slightly larger than a saker and smaller than a regular culverin developed in the early 17th century. Barrels of demi-culverins were typically about long, had a calibre of and could weigh up to . It required of black powder to fire an round...

 to falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

. As a result of espionage by the Spanish ambassador to London, Pedro de Zuniga, the map was passed to King Philip III of Spain

Philip III of Spain

Philip III , also known as Philip the Pious, was the King of Spain and King of Portugal and the Algarves, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death...

, in 1608. It was found in 1888 in a Spanish archive. It is unique as the only plan of an initial English settlement in the Americas known to survive.