Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
The Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is the southernmost state park in the US state of Florida . It is located in the southwest of the city of Key West .
geography
The park is 22 acres and includes the site of the former Fort Zachary Taylor coastal fortification . The fortress was originally located on a shoal about 350 meters southwest of the island of Key West . In the 1960s, the water between the fort and the island was backfilled by dredging, and the newly reclaimed land is called the Truman Annex . An artificial sandy beach was raised south of the fort in the 1970s. A new moat was dug around the fort by 1989 to give visitors an idea of what the fortress looked like in the 19th century.
history
Fort Zachary Taylor was built from 1845 to protect the port and the city of Key West and served as a coastal fortification until 1947. The US Navy then used the facility as a junkyard until 1970 when it was handed over to the US Department of the Interior . After neighboring Fort Jefferson was registered as a National Historic Landmark , committed citizens wondered why Fort Zachary Taylor was not placed under protection. From 1968 began Howard England , a former employee of the Navy-conditioning, and other citizens of Key West so that spilled inside the fortress under sand cannons and other militaria from the time of the Civil War dig. The excavations lasted ten years and uncovered not only the remains of guns, cannon balls and other weapons, but also a seawater desalination plant from the mid-19th century. The results of the excavations resulted in the former fort being inscribed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and a National Historic Landmark two years later. In 1976 the facility was transferred to the Florida State Park Service , which opened it to the public as a state park in July 1985. Today the park is one of the most visited state parks in Florida. Not all parts of the fort have yet been uncovered, as there are insufficient funds for the excavations and restoration of the finds. The structural condition of the fortress is also questionable. The expansion of the brick walls of the fortress with concrete towards the end of the 19th century caused cracks in the masonry, so that there is a risk that the complex could collapse. The state of Florida gives limited but insufficient funds to rehabilitate the fort. The park's friends' association, Friends of Fort Taylor , is collecting donations to help advance the redevelopment.
Flora and fauna
The park has the natural vegetation of the Florida Keys coastline , including tropical hardwood trees and shrubs, which provide shelter and food for numerous migratory birds in the fall and spring. During bird migration, the park is an excellent bird watching spot, as it forms the largest green space on Key West Island and the island is the last landing point between Cuba and Florida. Frigate birds and other birds that are unusual and rare for the USA have already been spotted at Fort Taylor, and in 2006 the Bahamian tyrant was spotted in the park, a bird that is not found anywhere else in the USA. The park is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail , a 3,200-mile network of 500 parks and bird sanctuaries owned by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission . The ocean around the state park contains rich tropical marine fauna with parrot fish , yellowtail snappers , lobsters, and various corals. Other fish such as giant dark groupers ( Epinephelus lanceolatus ) or the Atlantic tarpon can also be found in the deeper zones .
Tourist facilities
There is a fee to visit the park. The fortress can be visited with or without a guide. Fort Taylor contains the largest collection of guns from the US Civil War. Other restored finds from the excavations are shown in the attached museum. Three short tree-lined paths lead through the park, including a one-kilometer cycle path along the moat. The beach to the south of the park is considered the best beach in Key West and is popular with swimmers and snorkelers. The water is considered an excellent diving area because of its shallow depth of up to six meters and the excellent water quality . A stone dam at the harbor entrance can be used as a fishing pier and, as the water here is ten meters deep, offers good fishing opportunities for sea fish.
literature
- Paul Taylor: Discovering the Civil War in Florida: a reader and guide. Sarasota, Fla .:, Pineapple Press, 2001, ISBN 1-56164-235-5
- Michael Strutin: Florida State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide. Seattle, Mountaineers Books 2000, ISBN 0-89886-731-2
Web links
- State Park website
- Homepage of the museum
- Homepage of the Friends of Fort Taylor (engl.)
- Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park on the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Coordinates: 24 ° 32 ′ 51 ″ N , 81 ° 48 ′ 36 ″ W.