When closed in 1994, Fort Wadsworth had been the longest active military site in the United States.
Here are the facts you ought to know:
It started in 1663 as the site of a blockhouse (a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building).
Situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, it is a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. An enemy entering the Narrows would be caught in the cross-fire between Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.
The three-tiered fortification seen on the Staten Island waterfront is called the Battery Weed and was built between 1845 and 1861. Battery Weed’s interior is open to the public on park ranger escorted tours only, although its exterior can be viewed at all times.
During the American Revolution it was known as Flagstaff Fort; captured by the British in 1776, it remained in British hands until the war’s end in 1783.
During the War of 1812, it was crucial in protecting New York Harbor from the British.
Its name was adopted in 1864 to honor James Wadsworth, a Union general in the Civil War.
In 1903, a small lighthouse was built atop Battery Weed. Its light was visible for 14 nautical miles (26 km). When the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964 the lighthouse became obsolete. Dark for many years, it was restored and converted to solar power by volunteers in 2005.
In 1910, the fort fired a 21-gun salute to former President Theodore Roosevelt as his ship passed through the Narrows on his return from a nearly year-long trip to Africa and Europe.
In 1913, ground was broken by President William Howard Taft for a proposed National American Indian Memorial that was to be built on the site of Fort Tompkins. The monument was to include a 165-foot-tall (50 m) statue of an American Indian on the bluff overlooking the Narrows, but difficulties in fundraising and the advent of World War I precluded fruition of the plan.
By 1924, Fort Wadsworth had become an infantry post, and from 1955 until 1974 it was the headquarters of the 52nd AAA Brigade. It then was the site of the United States Army Chaplain school before being turned over to the United States Navy in 1979, which used it as the headquarters of its New York Naval Station.
Today it is managed by the National Parks Service and is open to the public as part of the Gateway National Recreational Area.
Visitors are welcome to explore the former military stronghold, and see New York Harbor from the perspective of the countless soldiers who helped to protect it. Informative tours led by park rangers are available year round.
The New York City Marathon, an annual marathon (42.195 km or 26.219 mi) that courses through the five boroughs of New York City, starts on Fort Wadsworth.
The Five Boro Bike Tour, an annual recreational cycling event in New York City starts at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and ends with a festival in Fort Wadsworth.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
https://www.nps.gov/gate/historyculture/fort-wadsworth.htm
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