Fort Jefferson | Dry Tortugas Islands of Florida, USA

Fort Jefferson is one of seven "Dry Tortugas Islands" located in the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Jefferson was built between 1845-1876. Fort Jefferson is named after the third President Thomas Jefferson. Fort Jefferson, a 19th-century third-system coastal fortification that occupies most of Garden Key. Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys. Fort Jefferson took nearly thirty years to build and was never fully armed.

Fort Jefferson is one of the central features of the seven small "Dry Tortugas Islands" in the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Jefferson constructed between 1845 and 1876, Fort Jefferson named after the third President Thomas Jefferson, and Fort Jefferson is a 19th-century third system coastal fortification that occupies the majority of Garden Key in the remote Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys.

The largest masonry structure in America

Fort Jefferson Florida

It is the largest masonry structure in America and contains over 16 million bricks. It was a six-tiered, four-sided, 1000-pound heavy-gun fort with six sides. Two sides measured 415 feet and four sides were 564 feet. Because there is no freshwater, it was called Dry Tortugas. The fort is situated on Bush Key, later Garden Key, in the Dry Tortugas National Park's lower Florida Keys. These Islands were sold to the United States by Spain in 1825 for $5 million.

Island fort Jefferson Key West

The fort became a federal prison after the Civil War. Robbery was the most common offense for civilian prisoners. Four civilian special prisoners were brought in in July 1865. These four special civilian prisoners were Dr. Samuel Mudd and Edmund Spangler. Samuel Arnold was also present. Michael O'Laughlen was convicted of conspiring in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Samuel Mudd was the doctor who broke John Wilkes Booth's leg. He is the most prominent prisoner. When Dr. Mudd arrived with his fellow prisoners, Fort Jefferson was still being constructed. Mudd provided highly-praised medical care in the yellow fever epidemic that struck at Fort Jefferson in 1867. This outbreak killed many prisoners, including O'Laughlen. President Andrew Johnson eventually pardoned Mudd and released him. In 1888, military use of Fort Jefferson had been reduced to a mere feigning interest. Fort Jefferson - The cost of maintaining the fort in the face of frequent hurricanes, as well as the debilitating effects of the tropical climate, had declined. The Army handed the fort to the Marine Hospital Service in 1888 to make it a quarantine station.

The area was designated Fort Jefferson National Monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 4, 1935. He visited the area via ship. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1970. The Dry Tortugas, which included Fort Jefferson, was designated a National Park on October 26, 1992.

First Image credit Steve