Fort Du Pont
Coordinates: 39°34′17″N 75°35′01″W / 39.57139°N 75.58361°W / 39.57139; -75.58361
| Fort DuPont | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. Historic district | |
| Delaware State Park | |
| Fort DuPont Aerial Photo 1927 | |
| Location: | Delaware City, Delaware |
|---|---|
| Area: | 350 acres (140 ha) |
| Built: | 1863–1945 |
| Architect: | Army Corps of Engineers Army Quartermaster Department |
| Architectural style: | Colonial Revival |
| Governing body: | 1863: United States Army 1947: State of Delaware |
| NRHP Reference#: | 99001275 |
| Added to NRHP: | 1999 |
Fort DuPont, named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, is located between Delaware City and the modern Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on the original Reeden Point tract, which was granted to Henry Ward in 1675. The first fortification built was the Ten Gun Battery, an auxiliary to nearby Fort Delaware during the American Civil War. A twenty-gun battery was constructed on the reservation during the 1870s followed by a mine control casemate in 1892. In 1897-1905, Endicott Era emplacements were constructed for long-range rifles, mortars, and rapid-fire guns. In 1922, the post became headquarters for the 1st Engineer Regiment, which garrisoned the post until 1941. During World War II, Fort DuPont served as a mobilization station for deploying units, and contained a prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers and sailors. After the war, Fort DuPont was declared surplus and offered to the Department of Veterans Affairs for use as a veterans hospital. After they declined, the state bought the site at a 100 percent discount and adapted existing structures for reuse. In 1948, it officially opened as the Governor Walter W. Bacon Health Center. In 1992, a large portion was re-designated as Fort DuPont State Park, which became Delaware's 13th state park.
Read more about Fort Du Pont: Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, Depression Era, World War II, Post World War II, Restoration and Preservation, Resident Curatorship Program, Adaptive Reuse
Famous quotes containing the word fort:
“The newspapers are the ruling power. Any other government is reduced to a few marines at Fort Independence. If a man neglects to read the Daily Times, government will go down on its knees to him, for this is the only treason these days.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)