Goats replace soldiers and prisoners at Fort Saulsbury

The federal government built Fort Saulsbury, at the edge of the marsh near Slaughter Beach, in 1917 when World War I was getting into full swing. On 160 acres of sandy soil studded with native cedars, the fort consisted of two heavily fortified concrete bunkers and several support buildings. In a warren of tall-ceilinged, windowless rooms defined by 24-inch-thick, solid-cement walls, stacks of 12-inch diameter shells lay waiting for the fort’s four artillery cannons. Their job? Protect the shipping lanes of Delaware Bay.

Along Delaware’s coast, Fort Saulsbury was to World War I what Fort Miles in Lewes was to World War II.

And just as with the big guns of Fort Miles, no one ever talks about the cannons of Fort Saulsbury ever being fired except for testing and practice.

During World War II, prisoners of war replaced the shells and powder and soldiers in the bunkers and buildings of Fort Saulsbury. According to state archives information, as many as 300 German and a few Italian prisoners at a time found temporary homes at the fort. They worked in the farm fields, the canneries and some of the poultry processing facilities in Milford and other surrounding communities. After the war ended and the prisoners went home, the government declared Fort Saulsbury surplus, and it was purchased by Milford’s Kendzierski family in 1948.

These days, sheep and goats graze atop the bunkers and on open ground where barracks, an infirmary and other fort-associated structures stood. The Sam Burke family bought the property from the Kendzierskis in 2002. The Burkes hoped to revive the fort as a campground, but neighbors and others fought the effort and won.

“We brought a few goats up here to get the vegetation under control, and they did so well we decided to try our hand with them,” said Sam Burke. Now, he said, Cedar Creek Farm - known previously as Fort Saulsbury - has a reputation for the quality of the Kiko goats it produces. “At the Western Maryland Pasture Performance Test, our goat received designation as the best consignment in the test. We had champion goats in 2012 and 2013. That’s up against competition from Kansas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana and other states. While most people grow these goats for meat, we sell ours primarily for breeding stock,” Burke said.

It’s lean, like venison

Lawrence and Chris Burke help their dad occasionally with the goats. “The Kikos are a New Zealand breed that does well here because our climate is similar to their native land,” said Lawrence.

“Goats are desirable because they produce good meat with little input. They require little feed other than pasture, almost no veterinary care, they have few diseases and the meat is tasty. I love it. Christopher won’t eat it.”

Chris shakes his head, smiles and then says something about a pet goat that was once passed off to him, on his plate, as rabbit. That’s when the family lived in a unit at Pilot Point in Lewes and had two or three goats living with them. Life has always been an adventure with the Burkes.

“It’s like venison to me,” said Lawrence. “It’s very lean. And it comes packaged just like cuts of beef - burger, chops, steaks. You can find it fresh in the Hispanic markets in Georgetown and Milford.”

Just after New Year’s Day this year, the Cedar Creek Farm nannies started birthing. “We have kids all over the place now,” said Sam. “About 35 I’d say, with an adult herd of 60 or so. We try to time the breeding so that when the kids get off their mothers’ milk, they can start feeding on the early grasses of spring.”

By fall, the goats will have pastured themselves to market size. Goat meat from young goats is milder than the meat of older goats. While the meat is starting to gain popularity in the U.S., it is much more mainstream in other parts of the world where its ease of production and low cost are appealing.

“I think we’re the only private owners of a coastal defense installation in the country,” said Sam. “And we’re using it for goats.” (And some sheep and a couple of alpacas.)

Fort Saulsbury, now Cedar Creek Farm, is unquestionably a special place. Lawrence said a few years back some ghost hunters came to the fort with their spirit-detecting devices. “They said there’s lots of activity here, and they made contact with a few of the former inhabitants.

“Those inhabitants told them the next time they came back they should bring someone who speaks German.”

I looked at Lawrence in disbelief and then turned to the goats and asked them if they believed it.

“Naaaaa,” was all they answered.