Those of you who know me well know how much I love visiting National Parks! I used to have a United States map hanging in my office with a pin in every national park I had visited, with quite a few more to check out! I also put stickers on my bike helmet from every visited park. I know, that is a bit extreme. Most people put stickers on their water bottle, or in a book or something instead of on their bike helmets!
Anyway, i recently had the opportunity to visit the Dry Tortugas National Park and investigate Fort Jefferson, which is located on Garden Key. I had intended to snorkel around the island as well, but spent too much time in the fort.
The Dry Tortugas National Park is comprised of 7 small islands and the surrounding waters about 70 miles off of Key West. Several of the islands change shape, size and location due to wind and water, especially during tropical storms or hurricanes. The area was called “Dry” Tortugas because there are no fresh water pools, ponds or lakes on any of the islands. The only fresh water comes from the rain.
Thirty years in the making (1846-1875), Fort Jefferson, though never completed or fully armed, was one of the largest forts every constructed. It’s purpose was to fortify the spacious harbor and provide an advance post for ships patrolling the Gulf of America and the Straits of Florida, which is along one of world’s busiest shipping lanes.It was an important link in the chain of coastal forts stretching from Maine to California, and proved to be a powerful deterrent.
The history of the fort is quite interesting. During the Civil War, Union ships used the harbor to stop blockade runners providing supplies to the Confederate Army, and was used as a prison, primarily for Union deserters. There also were some famous prisoners, including Dr. Samuel Mudd. Mudd was one of the co-conspirators convicted along with John Wilkes Booth of the assasination of Abraham Lincoln. Four of the conspirators were executed, including a woman, and four, including Mudd, were sent to Fort Jefferson.
The fort is three levels high and is huge! After the presentation and tour, it took us a long time to investigate the rest of the fort, and the views were amazing. Inside the fort, there were areas where it looked like stalactites and stalagmites forming. Interesting to me, we were told that is exactly what they are. The mortar was created by grinding shells and coral, which contain calcium carbonate. As water makes its way through the brick and mortar, the deposits form just like they would in a cave.
For me, I loved correlating the history of Fort Jefferson with history of the same period of Fort Fischer in North Carolina. It was interesting that I was able to visit both places in such a short time period.
The fort was abandoned by the military in 1874, and later used as a coaling station for warships. It was designated as a National Monument in 1935, and the area became the Dry Tortugas National Park in 1992.
Though I had intended to do some snorkeling, I’m not disappointed it didn’t happen. The time on Garden Key was time well spent!
