I thank the Sun Journal for the Aug. 29 article “The Phippsburg peninsula.” It touched on some important historical sites in the region, in particular, the three forts at the end of the peninsula: Fort Popham, Fort Baldwin and Fort St. George.

For the record, it should be noted that the English colonists built Fort St. George, not Fort Baldwin. Also, since Fort St. George was not shown in the graphic, its location is now marked by a memorial monument and ship sculpture at the parking lot adjacent to the path to Fort Baldwin.

The monument was sculpted by Andreas von Huene and donated by the organization, Maine’s First Ship. It was unveiled to the public last month. Signs describe the archaeology work done there under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey P. Brain and reported in detail in his book, “Fort St. George.”

Maine’s First Ship envisions recreating Maine’s first ship, the Virginia, as a school history teaching concept and as a link to Maine ship-building heritage. MFS is currently sponsoring the building of an 18-foot rowing shallop. A craft of that design would have been carried on board the Virginia for exploring the coast. Fourteen Morse High School students, under the guidance of master shipwright William West, Morse High School science teacher Eric Varney, and Phippsburg retired teacher Merry Chapin, have been engaged in the project during their summer break and the shallop is nearing completion.

Gil Ross, Auburn

Maine’s First Ship volunteer