Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
(U.S. National Historic Landmark District)
Outside view of Fort Zachary Taylor, showing the moat. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the
Location:	Monroe County, Florida, USA
Nearest city:	Key West, Florida
Coordinates:	24°32′52″N 81°48′35″W / 24.54778, -81.80972Coordinates: 24°32′52″N 81°48′35″W / 24.54778, -81.80972
Area:	87 acres
Built/Founded:	1845-66[1]
Designated as NHL:	May 31, 1973[2]
Added to NRHP:	March 11, 1971
NRHP Reference#:	71000244[3]
Governing body:	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

The Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site, better known simply as Fort Taylor, (or Fort Zach to locals), is a Florida State Park and National Historic Landmark centered on a Civil War-era fort located near the southern tip of Key West, Florida. Monroe County is a County located in the state of Florida. As of 2000 the population was 79589 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Key West is a city in Monroe County Florida, United States. The city encompasses Key West, the namesake island the part of Stock Island A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP is the agency in Florida's government charged with most functions relating to environmental quality in the state The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of Florida 's Department of Environmental Protection A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Key West is a city in Monroe County Florida, United States. The city encompasses Key West, the namesake island the part of Stock Island Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the

History of Fort Zachary Taylor

1845-1900

Construction of the fort began in 1845 as part of a mid-1800s plan to defend the southeast coast through a series of forts. The fort was named for United States President Zachary Taylor in 1850, a few months after President Taylor's sudden death in office. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Zachary Taylor (November 24 1784 &ndash July 9 1850 was an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States. Yellow fever epidemics and material shortages slowed construction of the fort, which continued throughout the 1850s. Yellow fever (also called yellow jack, black vomit or sometimes American Plague) is an acute viral disease In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a At the outset of the U.S. Civil War in 1861, Union Captain John Milton Brannan seized control of the fort, preventing it from falling into Confederate hands and using it as an outpost to threaten blockade runners. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South John Milton Brannan ( July 1, 1819 &ndash December 16, 1892) was a career American Army officer who served in the Mexican-American The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 A blockade runner is a term applied to ships used to evade a naval Blockade of a harbor or strait as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade Originally, the fort was surrounded by water on all sides, with a walkway linking it to the mainland. The fort was completed in 1866, although the upper level of one side was destroyed in 1889 to make way for more modern weapons, with the older cannons being buried within the new outer wall to save on materials. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural The fort was heavily used again during the 1898 Spanish-American War.

1900-present

The fort was "modernized" during the Endicott Period, when the top two levels were removed and newer coastal artillery was emplaced, which remained through mid-World War II, when anti-aircraft guns replaced the coastal artillery pieces. The Coastal Artillery Corps were abolished in 1947, and the fort, no longer of use to the army, was turned over to the U.S. Navy for maintenance, who used it as a storage yard for scrap metal.

In 1968, Howard S. England, a civilian architect for the Navy, was assigned to investigate and report on the fort, at the time an overgrown dumpsite. Howard S England (1914&ndash1999 was the man responsible for the transformation of Fort Zachary Taylor from a forgotten eyesore to a popular historic landmark and state park He completed his report, in which he recommended further research and excavations, but was told there was neither manpower nor funds available for that purpose. He persisted, and the Navy told England he could volunteer his time, if he wished, and examine the fort. England gathered a group of volunteers and they went to work. During a ten-year period, England and his "Sandhogs" searched long-abandoned parts of the fort, where they uncovered the largest collection of Civil War armaments in the United States, including cannon, guns, a desalinization plant and thousands of cannon balls and projectiles. Sandhog is the Slang term given to urban Miners Construction workers who work underground on a variety of excavation projects Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other Minerals from Water ^[4] After the historic significance of the Fort was established, the Navy transferred the property to the United States Department of the Interior in 1970, which subsequently deeded it to the State of Florida in 1976 to be developed as a public park. The United States Department of the Interior ( DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally ^[5]

Fort Taylor, Florida by Seth Eastman (1808-1875)

In 1971, Fort Zachary Taylor was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and in 1985, became Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Seth Eastman ( 1808 - 1875) and Mary Eastman ( 1818 - 1880) were instrumental in recording much of Native American life The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of A National Historic Landmark (NHL is a Building, site, Structure, Object, or District, that is officially recognized by the England voluntarily continued his research for nine years and discovered how the armaments came to be buried, created a museum for the artifacts, wrote his memoirs and donated them to the Friends of Fort Taylor. FOFT is the non-profit, community service organization that sponsors the Civil War Days event, the Pirates in Paradise Festival and other historical reenactments. Their role is to help preserve Ft. Taylor, a national landmark, as well as assist the state park in its overall mission.

As part of his research, England created 84 architectural and technical drawings which included physical dimensions: elevations, floor plans, details (e. g. handrails and doors), several types of large guns, their carriages and equipment as well as their projectiles. England donated his Architectural and technical drawings of Fort Zachary Taylor 1969-1980 to the Bureau of Archaeological Research, who transferred them to the State Library and Archives of Florida, where they reside today.

Central Yard of Fort Zachary Taylor in January 2006.

Truman Annex

The Fort's land closer to downtown Key West became part of the Truman Annex to the Key West Naval Station which is about three miles to the northwest. Truman Annex is a neighborhood in Old Town, Key West Florida where the winter White House for President Harry S The Annex was originally called the "Fort Zachary Taylor Annex" and it included a submarine base.

President Harry S. Truman used it for his Winter White House for 175 days in 11 visits. The Secret Service had a private beach built on the land for the president's security, but he reportedly only visited it once, preferring the public beaches. The beach name is called "Truman Beach" The fort and its related support buildings was later renamed for Truman.

The Annex was decommissioned in 1974 because its nuclear submarines were too big for the port. It was the landing point for many Cuban refugees during the Mariel boatlift. Cubans (Cubanos are people inhabiting or originating from Cuba. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race The Mariel Boatlift was a mass movement of Cubans who departed from Cuba 's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and Most of the buildings in the Annex were sold to private developers although there's a museum for the Truman White House and the Navy continues to own and maintain the piers.

Current uses

Due to the back fill of sand around the fort, the park boasts the best beach in Key West^[6] and the park occupies 87 acres (352,000 m²). In addition to the role of the fort and its adjacent beach as tourist attractions, Fort Taylor is also the location of a number of annual events, including week-long Civil War reenactments. On the weekend preceding Halloween, it is transformed into a haunted fort, much like a haunted house but on a grand scale and with a distinctive Civil War theme. Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented A haunted house is defined as a house that is believed to be a center for Supernatural occurrences or Paranormal phenomena The Fort Taylor Pirate Fest, part of the Pirates in Paradise Festival, is scheduled for Dec. 5 - 7, 2008.

Picnic area and beach.	Beach	Fort	Sunset from park.
Aerial view showing fort, picnic area and beach.

References

External links

• Fort Zachary Taylor at Florida State Parks
• History of Fort Zachary Taylor at Absolutely Florida
• Friends of Fort Taylor website
• Florida Department of State: State Archives of Florida Online Catalog Architectural and technical drawings of Fort Zachary Taylor 1969-1980
• Fort Taylor Pirate Fest, part of the Key West Pirates in Paradise Festival

• Fort Zachary Taylor is at coordinates 24°32′52″N 81°48′35″W / 24.547669, -81.809692 (Fort Zachary Taylor)Coordinates: 24°32′52″N 81°48′35″W / 24.547669, -81.809692 (Fort Zachary Taylor)