Fort Jefferson
Dry Tortugas National Park
P.O. Box 6208
Key West, Florida 33041
Monroe County
(305) 242-7700
This site is located in the Southeast region of the state.
DIRECTIONS
The National Park Service does not provide transportation. Commercial air service is available to Key West International Airport from which commercial air service to the national park may be secured. Ferry service from Key West is also available. Private pleasure boats, which are fully self-sufficient and equipped with appropriate navigational charts, are welcome. Fishing and dive charters can be arranged in the Florida Keys and Naples.
This site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Located on Garden Key, this is a part of the coastal defense system begun after the War of 1812. Named after President Thomas Jefferson, construction began in 1846. this site remains America’s largest 19th century coastal fort. Fort Jefferson saw duty during and after the Civil War as a prison for deserters and other criminals, the most notable of which were men implicated in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Obsolete as a coastal fortification because of rifled cannon, this served as an observation post during World War II. President Franklin Roosevelt declared this site a national monument in 1935 and, in 1992, the fort became part of Fort Jefferson/Dry Tortugas National Park.
