Submitted by: Melanie Mayfield
I am originally from Texas and I have lived everywhere in the US for over the past decade. I have lived just 5 minutes from Fort Griswold here in Groton for nearly 2 years now. It is a shame that Fort Griswold doesn’t have the messaging that speaks the same language as the Alamo. Certainly there are differences beyond cultural and timeline, but everyone knows or seems to know about the Alamo. I don’t know that everyone knows Fort Griswold. To be like Alamo, the site needs to be something that becomes a required field trip location for elementary school children and beyond. The gift shop/museum location would need to be expanded. Not everyone likes portapotties. One thing that helped me as a young person understand the Alamo included the John Wayne movie. I don’t know if there is an exclusive movie about the Battle of Groton Heights. There are elements of the Alamo that people identify with what is a national identity as well what it is to be Texan, especially then. When creating an identity about Fort Griswold, especially that these were New Englanders, it can be said the same about Fort Griswold that there were elements about these young men/boys that expressed a national identity as well as New England sort of way. It helps create a pride certainly locally as well as nationally because people from all over can get to know you and not feel excluded. In conclusion, you might check out the Alamo and see how it has done to promote its site, educational resources, as well as onsite amenities. I cannot unfortunately contribute to any of these ideas as we are moving out of the region in 2 months.
Category: Event, Speaker / Lecture, Demonstration, Guided Tour, Fort improvement, Reenactment, Website feature, For Children
