Park Service works to restore the crumbling fort at Dry Tortugas.
DRY TORTUGAS N.P., FLA.-It was built more than 150 years ago, intended to be America's most powerful fort and thwart enemies from the sea. And yet mighty Fort Jefferson never faced enemy fire. Indeed, it was not until recently that the coastal fort began battling a formidable foe: Mother Nature.
"The fort is in real bad condition, and if we don't stabilize it there is a good chance it will completely crumble," said Rick Cook, spokesman for Dry Tortugas National Park, of which Fort Jefferson is a centerpiece. "This has been a constant issue for us because of the age of the fort and the severe climate conditions that it faces. Every year it is hit with severe storms, including hurricanes, rough seas, and frequent rains."
Years of pounding from waves and wind have weakened sections of the fort's brickwork, causing some to drop into the moat. Steady exposure to salt air corroded the wrought-iron shutters that were designed to open for cannon-fire. Leaks have eroded the inner mortar.
These and other problems have left park officials grappling with how to protect the fort from a harsh environment and preserve its historic value.
"The fort has some serious problems because of, over the years, a lack of resources to address them," said Cook. Until very recently we haven't had the money to go out and do routine maintenance. As a result, we've got a backlog."
Congress has appropriated millions of dollars over the past few years for fixing the fort, but it is not that simple, said Cook. The remoteness of the island fort, about 70 miles west of Key West, between the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, renders maintenance difficult. Among other concerns: it is hard to bring maintenance equipment to the fort-accessible only by plane, ferry, or private boat.
"It's not the kind of thing you could go in and do all at once," said Cook. "It takes a lot of planning and care to do the work. There is a limit to how many people can be out there at one time. Work is probably going to have to happen over time."
Masons began working on the fort in 1994, removing more than half of the rusty shutters and re-bricking portions of the structure. Referring to the work that remains, one park ranger said: "To call it overwhelming might be an understatement."
"We know we'll never be able to restore it in the traditional sense," added Cook, "but we would like to prevent further deterioration and keep the fort around."
Although nature has accelerated some of the fort's deterioration, the structure has had problems almost from its start. Construction began in 1846, and a critical design flaw caused the fort to settle unevenly for the next 20 years. By 1876, it was sinking into sand.
The fort was never completed, largely because of changes in weapon technology that rendered it obsolete by 1862. The Department of the Army officially abandoned the fort in 1874.
After the Civil War, the fort became a federal prison for Union deserters and others. Its most notable inmate was Dr. Samuel Mudd, a physician whose crime was setting a man's fractured leg. Unfortunately for Dr. Mudd, that man was John Wilkes Booth, who sustained the injury leaping from a balcony at Ford's Theatre after shooting President Abraham Lincoln.
