Key West in Monroe County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mariners Beware!
Fort Jefferson
— Dry Tortugas National Park —
Photographed By Brandon D Cross, May 4, 2023
1. Mariners Beware! Marker
Inscription.
Mariners Beware!. Fort Jefferson. The Dry Tortugas offer a sheltered harbor for ships, but their reefs and shoals have claimed more than 200 wrecks since the 1500s. To warn mariners, the US government built a 70-foot lighthouse in 1825, 26 on Garden Key 20 years before work started on the fort. Shipwrecks continued. The light was not tall or bright enough and was too far away from the hazards. In 1858 a new 152-foot Lighthouse, with a powerful Fresnel lens, was built three miles to the west on Loggerhead Key. Damaged by hurricanes, the Garden Key Light was replaced in 1876 by the iron-plate lighthouse currently atop the fort. Iron was used because bricks could shatter if hit by enemy fire and send debris flying into the fort.<, (captions) , The foundations of the original whitewashed-brick Garden Key Light can be seen on the parade ground., A 2008 nautical chart of Tortugas Harbor, Look for the Dry Tortugas Light three miles west on Loggerhead Key., Tortugas Harbor Light (foreground).
The Dry Tortugas offer a sheltered harbor for ships, but their reefs and shoals have claimed more than 200 wrecks since the 1500s. To warn mariners, the US government built a 70-foot lighthouse in 1825—26 on Garden Key 20 years before work started on the fort. Shipwrecks continued. The light was not tall or bright enough and was too far away from the hazards. In 1858 a new 152-foot Lighthouse, with a powerful Fresnel lens, was built three miles to the west on Loggerhead Key. Damaged by hurricanes, the Garden Key Light was replaced in 1876 by the iron-plate lighthouse currently atop the fort. Iron was used because bricks could shatter if hit by enemy fire and send debris flying into the fort.<
(captions)
The foundations of the original whitewashed-brick Garden Key Light can be seen on the parade ground.
A 2008 nautical chart of Tortugas Harbor
Look for the Dry Tortugas Light three miles west on Loggerhead Key.
Tortugas Harbor Light (foreground).
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
24° 37.687′ N, 82° 52.325′ W. Marker is in Key West, Florida, in Monroe County. This marker is located within Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Key West FL 33040, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . 1. Tortugas Harbor Light. (Submitted on June 3, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.) 2. Dry Tortugas National Park. (Submitted on June 3, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
Photographed By Brandon D Cross, May 4, 2023
2. Mariners Beware! Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 3, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 50 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on June 3, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
