Fort WadsworthAmerica's Oldest Continuously Manned Fort
The oldest continuously manned military installation in the US at its closure in 1994, Fort Wadsworth is situated on Staten Island, New York. Fort Wadsworth is considered one of the most important military sites in our nation's history, protecting one of it's most important cities. The area, commonly known as The Narrows, was a strategic point for the protection of New York Harbor.The first use of the land for military purposes was as the site of a Dutch blockhouse in 1663. A blockhouse is a single fortified building used for defensive purposes, having an overhanging upper story with gun ports. During the American Revolution the fortification became known as Flagstaff Fort. The fort was captured by the British in 1776 and remained in British hands until the war's end in 1783. On Evacuation Day in 1783, when British troops pulled out, the captain of a Royal Navy warship fired at Fort Wadsworth in what was probably the last shot of the war. In 1806 the fort became the property of New York State. The state divided the fort into smaller units including the fortifications of Lewis, Richmond (Battery Weed), Morton, Hudson, and Tompkins. The site reverted back to federal control during the War of 1812. Its present name was adopted in 1864 to honor Brigadier General James Wadsworth, a Union Army Commander who had been killed in the Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War. Major General John M. Dix suggested the name change on May 19, 1864, in a letter to E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 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. The property became part of the Gateway National Recreational Area when the Navy left in 1994. Shortly after that, the United States Coast Guard became a tenant in some of the buildings and housing previously occupied by the Navy. Historic structures include Battery Weed, directly on the harbor, and Fort Tompkins on the bluff above. Both were built in the mid-19th Century and are open to the public on guided tours only. There are several smaller early 20th Century batteries and an overlook with panoramic views of the Upper Bay, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The National Park Service maintains a visitors' center on site. Other Fort Wadsworth Facts
Fort Wadsworth is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. More recently, it was the staging site for the 2007 New York City Marathon, and sits beneath the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which opened on November 21, 1964. Fort Wadsworth was the site where President Howard Taft introduced the first Buffalo nickel at a groundbreaking for the National Memorial to the North American Indian on March 4, 1913.A map of Fort Wadsworth can be found here: Fort Wadsworth Map |