National Historic Landmark · Newport, Rhode Island

Fort Adams

Built 1798. Added to the National Register in 1970, and a National Historic Landmark.

Fort Adams
Photos via Wikimedia Commons

The record

Property typeHistoric district
AddressW of Newport at Fort Adams Rd. and Harrison Ave., Newport, RI
CountyNewport County
ListedJul 28, 1970
Listed forMilitary, Engineering, Architecture
Level of significanceNational
Also known asFort Adams Historic District
Reference number70000014
Built1798 · more from the 1790s
DesignationsNational Historic Landmark

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

AddressW of Newport at Fort Adams Rd. and Harrison Ave., Newport, RI
Coordinates41.4750° N, 71.3411° W · Directions ↗
Also in Newport69 listed places in Newport → · walking tour →
A district listing covers the streets, not the doors. Walk it freely; the buildings inside are as private as they ever were.

Explore

Map

Public land around it

Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge ↗National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceAbout 5 miles away245 acres

Wilderness Atlas publishes a centroid and an acreage for each unit, not a boundary line. Distance here is measured to a circle of the same area drawn around that centroid, so treat it as roughly right rather than surveyed.

Local history books for Newport

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Scandalous Newport, Rhode Island
    Larry Stanford, 2013
    Find at Bookshop.org

Rhode Island travel guides

  • Quiet water Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
    Alex Wilson, 2014
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • WPA Guide to Rhode Island
    Federal writers' project, 2013
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Explorer's Guide - Rhode Island
    Phyllis Meras and Katherine Imbrie, 2012
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was Fort Adams listed on the National Register?

Jul 28, 1970. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

When was Fort Adams built?

1798.

Source: Wikidata

Where is Fort Adams?

W of Newport at Fort Adams Rd. and Harrison Ave., Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island.

Source: National Park Service

Where is the nomination form for Fort Adams?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Sources

Name, location, type and dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet of listed properties, because the Park Service's spatial data does not carry this listing. The map point comes from Wikidata. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 70000014. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place.