These abandoned groups of islands have many interesting stories to tell; this group of islands is also the largest coastal brick fortress. Dry Tortugas National Park consists of seven islands. Located in Monroe County, Florida this is the westernmost part of the Florida Keys, United States.This national park was famous for colorful coral reefs, grounds for tropical birds breeding, and also for luxuriant sea life. The Dry Tortugas National Park’s main attraction is Fort Jefferson, which is basically a huge and uncompleted coastal fortress.

This place is famous for hundreds of shipwrecks. Due to these islands’ uncertain climate change, it became a trap for ships. Today the island became popular for its underwater treasure, as many shipwrecks happened here they sank with their large number of treasures which are still sunken today.

Discovery History of Dry Tortugas

This place was discovered by a European named Juan Ponce de Leon on June 21, 1513. Another significant thing about this place is its name. It was the second oldest surviving place name in the US. Juan named this place after he caught 160 sea turtles and later referred to the island as ‘Tortugas” which means turtles. The turtles are called dry because they were extinct for the lack of freshwater on the island, that’s where the Dry Tortugas name came from. Fort Jefferson of Dry Tortugas National Park

Fort Jefferson was started to constructed in 1847 and within 1860 the half of the construction was completed. This huge Fortress is an uncompleted coastal fortress and also the largest brickwork in the whole Western Hemisphere. Till 1847 this place was used as a prison for the Civil War and then the place was closed completely and abandoned for no reason. One of the famous prisoners here was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth, involved in Lincoln’s assassination.

History of the National Park

The Dry Tortugas National Park covers an area of approx 47,125 acres. Designated by President Roosevelt, Dry Tortugas National Park was opened on the 26th of October, 1992. This park was a joint venture with Everglades National Park. The main purpose to build the park was to protect the ecosystem of Dry Tortugas and also for the preservation of Fort Jefferson.

The Abandonment Of Dry Tortugas

After World War I the Fort Jefferson Was isolated without any reason. And due to the United States Federal Government Shutdowns of 1995-96, the park was closed along with all other national parks. Later the state tried to open the park but the effort failed because they didn’t raise enough funding to open it.

Current State of Dry Tortugas National Park

Although the park was closed, tourists and many local visitors still visit the place. But in 2004 Hurricane Charley hit the place, following this Cessna airplane crashed into the water near the island. But still, there are so many visitors who visited the place for its natural attraction.