Fort Starlight
Fort Starlight was a fortified settlement that served as the Headquarters of the Commonwealth Minutemen from November 2287 onward. Established in the ruins of a drive-in movie theater (from which it derived its name), Starlight commanded a respectable footprint as well as exterting control over major road intersections that solidified Minuteman influence in the Northwestern Commonwealth. It's founder, Jason Watts, established it as his headquarters in the capacity of General of the Minutemen once it became clear the faction was more than just the pipe dream he'd shared with Preston Garvey.
Strategic Significance
Starlight's strategic significance was largely in its positioning. Through its adjoining road intersections, it gated access to Concord (and by extension, Red Rocket Station, Tenpines Station, Covenant, Lexington, Cambridge, and so on. It was considered a major clearing hub for trade throughout the Northwest, though for a significant portion of its early history it did not actually have any market facilities, especially after it was decided it would be primarily a military facility of the standing minutemen.
History
Establishment
A camp at Starlight was first established after General Watts and Colonel Garvey cleared the area of a mole-rat infestation, very early on in the establishment of the current incarnation of the Minutemen. This initial camp consisted of no more than sleeping quarters for four individuals (to include the General, Preston, and two individuals to hold the facility against invading raiders or wasteland creatures), the Minuteman Archives, and some limited workshop facilities.
Fall of 2287
Throughout the fall of 2287 Starlight saw repeated expansions, culminating in November 16th's "General Order #01" which established the facility as the headquarters of the Minutemen, formally, and is the first official mention of it having been named "Fort" starlight. These initial expansions saw the construction of two "temporary" housing facilities on the grounds, alongside the water treatment plant, Northern Gatehouse, improvements to the former screen structure (termed "South Watch"), and construction of what General Watts termed "expedient defensive positions". During this period, the complement of Fort Starlight dramatically increased, supporting about 14 people at its contemporary height, the majority of whom were convoy workers engaged in goods transportation to neighbouring settlements.
= Winter of 2287-2288
During the period known as the First Reconstruction, General Watts expanded Fort Starlight further, beginning construction on the building then known as "The Factory", as well as constructing the Starlight Infirmary, and establishing additional defensive positions including an artillery platform. During this period, the idea of having the Fort be self-sufficient for food production was abandoned, with preference given to relying on the multiple nearby allied farms.
This period also saw at least the establishment of plans to wall-in the property, which previously relied on pre-war fencing and expediently-constructed covers to funnel attacks toward defensible positions.
Facilities
Minutemen Archives
See Full Article: Minuteman Archives (Starlight)
Among the earliest establishments at Fort Starlight was the Archives, built into a large storage room on the back side of the screen building (South Watch, in the modern parlance). The archives served as little more than a storage and categorization facility for documents recovered by Minutemen-aligned scavengers, with the broader goal of eventually establishing a more readily-used library in a more central location. General Watts was a noted hoarder of technical documentation especially, and saw the Archives as the means to preserve much of the Old World for later reconstruction.
Starlight Infirmary
See Full Article: Starlight Infirmary
Fort Starlight was the proud recipient of the first fully-equipped Minuteman-funded clinic, which offered medical care to settler and soldier alike through Minuteman-provided subsidies. The facility was considered rather advanced for the time (rated "level three"), and in addition to walk-through care and pharmacy services, had long-term care beds for three individuals as well as a radiological decontamination facility.
Water Treatment Plant
A highly rudimentary water treatment plant was constructed at Fort Starlight, consisting of a single industrial water purifier feeding from a depression in the central "lot" of the facility. Initially thought to be somewhat wasted effort and fed largely by rainwater, it was later discovered that this crater was filled by the breach of a graded water main that itself fed out of the nearby water table; in essence, nearly-unlimited water. The treatment plant was exposed to the elements but remained operational due to its perceived strategic importance if the fort should later fall under seige.
Drive-in Building
The original drive-in building had largely survived the Great War, though of course it was in poor repair following two centuries of neglect thereafter. At the time of writing, the Drive-In Building was actually largely unused, except for a portion of its eastern overhang, which was used as a support for a radio mast and a portion of the Northern Gatehouse.
Northern Gatehouse
The Northern Gatehouse was a crude wooden fortification built as a support for turrets and manned firing positions at the original driveway in and out of the lot, which was further enforced using chain link gates. This was a crude and expedient fortification step, which was always intended to be replaced when the lot could be walled in properly.
The Factory
See Also: Starlight Arsenal
In December of 2287, General Watts personally undertook an effort to construct a large, three-story factory building in the shadow of South Watch, which was intended to serve as an arsenal structure. The original plans show a two-section factory, which would have used automated equipment to process incoming junk items down to raw components, then use those components to automatically manufacture three forms of ammunition commonly used by the Commonwealth Minutemen: fusion cells, .50 BMG, and .45 rounds.
It is known that at the time some of the assembly equipment - particularly an ammunition forge - had been constructed, but not installed. The project stalled out over a shortage in construction materials. In January of 2288, General Watts further commented that the project had been a "boondoggle" and was perhaps premature.
Residencies
From fall of 2287 to the early days of 2288, two expedient structures containing beds for 7 persons each had been constructed in the lot, alongside the existing bedding fit for two people in the base of South Watch. In January 2288, shortly after the completion of work on the Infirmary, Jason Watts recorded in his diary that the condition of these residences was "embarrassing".
South Watch
The large structure consisting of two minor storage rooms and the original projection screen, which was original to the Drive-In facility in its pre-war heyday, eventually became known as South Watch. There was access to the top "edge" of the screen by means of a staircase and a narrow walkway, and this platform was fortified with firing positions to permit a lookout and sharpshooter to provide oversight of Lexington and the southern roads.
As early as January 2287, plans had been established to make use of this elevated platform for wind-based electricity production and to build South Watch into part of the guard facility of a yet-to-be-established Southern Gatehouse.