We went over to check out Fort Pickens ~ what a great place to spend a few hours exploring the past. The cost to visit the Fort is the entrance fee into the Fort Pickens Gulf Islands National Seashore which is $8 dollars a car unless you have the national Seniors pass then it is FREE. Fort Pickens was used during the Civil War and from 1886 to May 1887, the famous Apache Indian Geronimo was imprisoned in Fort Pickens, along with several of his warriors. As you enter the park you’ll drive past some of the battery locations. You’ll want to stop and check it out but keepdriving to the visitor center and get all the self-guided information and brochures first.
The peaceful surroundings--white sugar-sand beaches, clumps of golden sea oats, and the soothing sounds of coastal waves pounding on the shores of a long barrier island contradict the serious purpose of Fort Pickens, located on Santa Rosa Island in Florida. One of the largest brick forts built in the United States, Fort Pickens provided the setting for a serious effort by a small group of men to avert or at least postpone the outbreak of the Civil War. Months before the firing on Fort Sumter, the Southern forces at nearby Pensacola, Florida, worked to find a way of seceding from the Union without initiating bloodshed.
Fort Pickens and nearby Fort McRee, Fort Barrancas, and Advanced Redoubt today lie within Gulf Islands National Seashore. They provide an intriguing setting for the important events that occurred in the Pensacola area just prior to and during the Civil War.
Fort Pickens is one of the many old forts we have visited and we highly recommend going on the tour provided by the park service. Ranger David P. Ogden was full of historic information about the fort and was willing to answer any questions you might have. He is also author to several books about the forts in the area.
To read more about Fort Pickens go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Pickens
8 comments:
Thank you Donna!
I love the Civil War sites. What a sad time in our country's history.
There you are! See you down the road!
Roxanne
Donna,
This looks like a wonderful place to visit. I'd love it but hubby will not park in these places with no sewer. How do you guys handle that? I'm guessing you both use the bath houses, right? Just don't know if I'm ready for that. How much trouble to just drive the MH to the dump station and come back? Love to read about your adventures! Thanks for sharing.
Sharon
so many places to visit and so little time..thank goodness for blogs!..its like we are there!!
Thanks for the great tour and history lesson. Looked like a great place to visit - I'd love to see it.
Thanks for a great post. Would love to see some of those historic places.
This was interesting to us. We visited Santa Rosa Is. 6 months after Hurricane Ivan and were so shocked by the destruction we only did a short drive and were totally unaware of this Fort,
Blessings.
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