 | 1893 With the growing influence the United States was playing in
the world,
and its large Naval Fleet. The Department of Defense noted that using the Fort
for any other purpose was not feasible. Fort Jefferson was the only deep water
port between the Chesapeake Bay and the Rio Grande that could handle the
battle
ships of that time. Here they could get coal and fresh water. The War
Department
ordered the quarantine station removed. The Fort was still used as a
quarantine
station until 1900. It was now garrisoned with the 5th U.S. Artillery troops.
|
| 1896 With the Cuban Revolution starting the year before plans for
upgrading
Fort Jefferson were under consideration.
|
| 1898 Dredging of the harbor channels started with a goal of 30 feet
deep and
a with of 300 feet wide. The installation of two huge coal sheds with piers
begun. A huge tank with the capacity of 2,000,000 gallons was started. With
its water condensing plant.
|
| 1899 An underwater cable was laid between
Key West and the Dry
Tortugas.
|
| 1900 The Dry Tortugas was transferred to the Navy. With the
completion of
of the water plant and coal sheds work was stopped.
|
| 1901 The Fort was manned by a garrison of 29 men from the Marine
Corp.
|
| 1902 The Dredging of the channels and construction on the Fort
resume.
|
| 1904 The Damage done by a storm was repaired and the coal station
finished.
A new wireless communication was installed.
|
| 1906 The dredging was completed in the channels leading into the
Fort.
|
| 1908 This was the last time Fort Jefferson was used as a coaling
station. Its
water plant was moved to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The reservation was given
to the Dept of Agriculture for use as a bird preserve.
|
| 1935 The Fort has laid quite for many years. By proclamation the
Fort was made
part or the National Park System by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was
known
as the Fort Jefferson National Monument.
|
| 1992 Rededicated as the Dry Tortugas National Park. This helped to
increase the
protection of this 100 square mile area.
Clyde's Key West Parks
|
