Fort East Martello was one of three Civil War era forts on the island. Construction began in 1862, making it part of a chain of fortifications that controlled Key West's maritime waterways. Its architectural design was a Martello Tower, a Genoese defense system originally from the island of Corsica that dated back to the 16th century. With two lines of defense, it was designed to be virtually impregnable. No shots were ever fired from this fort. By 1865, the war had ended and new gun technology had made masonry fortifications obsolete.