Offbeat | US: ‘Pokemon Go’ players blamed for damage at historic fort

In this Monday, July 18, 2016, photo, a "Pokemon Go" player shows his mobile phone while walking through the Boston Common, outside the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston. Historical markers dot the landscape of old cities, barely noticed by passers-by. The founder of the volunteer-based historical markers website that licensed its data to game-maker Niantic Labs five years ago said he hopes enough people take their eyes off the Pokemon they’re trying to catch to read the history on the markers. On the opposite side of the wall, left, is a bronze memorial to Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, comprised of black Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A fort destroyed in the Revolutionary War is again fending off attacks — this time from “Pokemon Go” players.
Caretakers of Fort Phoenix in Massachusetts say players of the popular smartphone game are damaging the historic site.
Gary Lavalette, volunteer caretaker at the fort in Fairhaven, near the Rhode Island state line, says people have been leaving trash, vandalizing historic structures and publicly urinating. He told WLNE-TV (bit.ly/2b3Jknk) that a stone wall was taken apart with a crowbar and parts of the property look like a “minefield” because people are digging up the ground.
The Fairhaven Historical Commission says hundreds of “Pokemon Go” players have been flocking to the fort, often at night, because it’s where a rare Pokemon can be found.
The fort was destroyed by the British in 1778 but later rebuilt.

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