| World / USA / Florida / Key West, 111 km from center | Coordinates: 24°37'42"N 82°52'23"W |
www.nps.gov/drto/
www.fortjefferson.com/home.htm
Named by the Spanish explorer Ponce de León in 1513, the islands later became a pirate base. They are famous for their bird and marine life. Loggerhead Key is the largest island. Centered on Garden Key is Dry Tortugas National Park (64,701 acres/26,195 hectares). The park contains Fort Jefferson (1846), the largest all-masonry fort in the Western Hemisphere, which served as a prison until 1874. Designated Fort Jefferson National Monument in 1935, it was renamed and became a national park in 1992.
Category: fort
place comments: |
2 months ago drbriggs3comcast.net | 0 |
 
|
|
Doctor Samuel Mudd (of "Your name is Mud" fame) spent several years here as a prisoner after he treated John Wilkes Booth for his broken leg, a leg which he broke in trying to escape after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Believing that Mudd was part of the conspiracy, he was sentenced to prison. He eventually won a pardon after helping a number of the prisoners and guards survive an outbreak of Yellow Fever. | ||||
 | add your comment in English |