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When St. John's became larger than Falmouth and Parham about 1703, the northern entrance of St. John's harbor was fortified. The foundation stone for the present fort was laid with full Masonic honors in 1739. This inscribed stone may still be seen on the easterly corner. Much later, the inscription on this stone was nearly obliterated by some mischievous treasure-hunters, who had hoped to find coins behind it.
In the old days, it was the custom that every vessel passing the fort should pay a fee of 18 shillings to the Captain of the fort. If the ship did not comply, a shot was fired across its bows. At one time a gun exploded while saluting a nearby ship and shattered the arm of a man tending the cannon.
Fort James was never actually engaged in battle, but it must have been a great deterrent to French privateers from Guadeloupe that often raided St. Johns shipping at the turn of the 19th century.
There are 10 cannon on the ramparts of the fort, these fired a 24 lb ball with an 8 lb charge one and a half miles. Eleven men were needed to handle a gun, the gun itself weighs two and a half tons. These cannon today help visitors to the fort get a feeling of the past and are thus a part of Antigua and Barbuda's historical heritage.