Fort Zachary Taylor (Key West)

Construction of the fort began in June 1845, shortly after Florida became the 27th U.S. state. It was part of a larger defense program for the southeastern U.S. coast. Completion was delayed by its remote location, material shortages, diseases, and hurricanes. The fortress was named in 1850 after the deceased President Zachary Taylor. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, Union troops secured the nearly completed fort for the Union. During the war, it served as headquarters for a U.S. squadron that maintained the blockade of the Gulf of Mexico. Although not fully completed until 1866, the already installed guns were sufficient for deterrence. Later, the fort was modernized as part of the Endicott Program and served in the Spanish-American War and both World Wars. In 1947, the army transferred the facility to the U.S. Navy, which used it for storage. Starting in 1968, volunteers excavated buried Civil War cannons, leading to its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark. In 1976, it was transferred to the Florida State Park Service and opened as a State Park in 1985.