Joseph Wood likely created this watercolor to commemorate the Maine Historical Society's "field day" gathering at Pemaquid Point in Bristol on August 26, 1869. A poem by Maria W. Hackelton, entitled "Jamestown of Pemaquid... read on the site of Fort Frederic, on the reception of the committee of the Maine Historical Society by the citizens of Bristol, August 26, 1869," described the day's events.

Several colonial forts once occupied the site, starting with Shurte's Fort (1630), Fort Pemaquid (1633), Fort Charles (1677), Fort William Henry (1692.) Fort William Henry was destroyed by the French and their allies in 1696. Several iterations of Fort Frederick occupied the site until the town of Bristol destroyed it in 1759. Components of Fort William Henry were reconstructed in the early 20th century.