New London — Brian Ploof, a stone mason with G Donovan Associates, was working on repointing the stone walls of Fort Trumbull on Wednesday.

"These stones will last forever," he said, "What's holding them together, not so much." He said the job of grinding out the existing mortar and replacing it for the entire fort has been a multiyaer project that he has done mostly alone.

The first fortifications on the site were built in 1777 to protect New London Harbor from British attack, and it later served as a part of the country's costal defense system. The masony fort that stands there today is the third set of fortifications on the site and was constructed between 1839 and 1852.