Fort Taylor

Fort Taylor was constructed in 1845 as part of the Third Tier System of Defense, which established masonry fortresses along America’s coastline to prevent sea attacks upon the United States. It was an important defensive structure because it commanded the waters of the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. When completed, the fort was three stories tall, held 140 cannon, and housed almost 450 soldiers. It remained under federal control during the Civil War and served as the headquarters of the U.S. Navy East Gulf Coast Blockading Squadron. Its current form largely resulted from alterations made in 1898, including the removal of the upper two tiers, the filling of casemates with sand and obsolete ordnance, and the construction of the modern rifled artillery emplacements Battery Adair and Battery Osceola. Fort Taylor continued to defend the United States during the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Its service to the nation ended in 1947, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.

Key West, Florida · United States