Fort Varnum was built as part of a general modernization of US coast defenses begun in 1940 with the outbreak of war in Europe and the
Fall of France. The fort is named for General
James Mitchell Varnum of the Revolutionary War. It was built to relocate previously-emplaced weapons to a more useful location nearer the entrance to
Narragansett Bay. The fort was sited to reinforce new 6-inch gun batteries at
Fort Greene in
Point Judith and
Fort Burnside in
Jamestown. The fort was intended to protect the West Passage of Narragansett Bay as part of the
Harbor Defenses of Narragansett Bay. Fort Varnum's main armament was Battery House, two
6-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts, completed in 1942. The battery was a relocation of Battery House at
Fort Getty in Jamestown. Two
3-inch M1903 guns on pedestal mounts were planned for Battery Armistead, relocated from
Fort Kearny, now the
University of Rhode Island Narragansett Bay Campus. However, these guns arrived in unusable condition, and Fort Varnum's commander asked that they be scrapped. They were stored instead and were never mounted. Better light weapons were provided in 1943 as Anti-
Motor Torpedo Boat Battery (AMTB) 921, with four
90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. Several
fire control stations were built in Narragansett disguised as beach cottages; these may date from the start of the
Endicott Program circa 1900. Most have been destroyed; some survive at Camp Varnum. In 1947, with the war over, Fort Varnum's guns were scrapped along with almost all other US coast artillery weapons. ==Present==