Saturday, April 21, 2012

Exploring Fort Jefferson

After a nearly 3-hour ferry ride, Tortugas National Park and Fort Jefferson. It's a fortress in the middle of the sea...construction began in 1846 to help protect the southern coastline. Click on the latter link for an aerial photo of the fort if you aren't familiar with it.

It is the largest masonry structure in the western hemisphere, with over 16 million bricks.

16 MILLION.

It was used as a prison in the Civil War, and at one point there were more than 800 people living at this tiny fort, which has3 levels..

It became a National Park in 1935.

Can you imagine being imprisoned here? Yikes. They are called the Dry Tortugas because there is no fresh water on any of the keys.

The inner buildings were once officer's quarters, and now serve as housing for the National Park staff stationed here. So cool!

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