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Fort Jefferson

🇺🇸 United States · 19th century

Fort Jefferson in the United States
Photo: U.S. National Park Service · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Fort Jefferson is a former U.S. military coastal fortress in the Dry Tortugas National Park of Florida. It is the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas, covering 16 acres (6.5 ha) and constructed of over 16 million bricks. Among United States forts, only Fort Monroe in Virginia and Fort Adams in Rhode Island are larger. The fort is located on Garden Key in the lower Florida Keys within the Dry Tortugas, 68 miles (109 km) west of the island of Key West. The Dry Tortugas are part of Monroe County in Florida.

The fort was named for the Founding Father and American president Thomas Jefferson.

Text adapted from “Fort Jefferson” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fort Jefferson ranks #1,176 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #20 of the 105 mapped in United States. Founded 1847, it is older than 9% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 562 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 11,540 times in the last 60 days, more than 94% of the atlas. See how United States compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗

Frequently asked questions

Where is Fort Jefferson?

Fort Jefferson stands in the United States, at 24.62778°, -82.87306°.

When was Fort Jefferson built?

The atlas dates its founding to 1847. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.

How famous is Fort Jefferson?

In this atlas's fame ranking: #1,176 of 7,738 worldwide, and #20 in the United States. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.

What is the nearest castle to Fort Jefferson?

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, about 108 km away.

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