Dig Location in Paradeground

From March 13 – 16, 2009 visitors tot the Dry Tortugas National Park aboard the Yankee Freedom II were treated to an archaeological dig of an 1850’s storehouse foundation located in the paradeground of Fort Jefferson. March is Florida’s Archaeology Month and this weekend’s even allowed the public an opportunity to help sift and search soils taken from under a storehouse destroyed by fire in 1857.

Read the rest of this entry »

By: “Tortuga” Jack Hackett

Fort Jefferson Fort at the Dry Tortugas.

As “Silent Night” still lingers in the ears and resolutions are still forthcoming, here at Ft. Jefferson bricks, bricks and more bricks await the capable hands of returning work crews. The air is permeated with a sense of elation shared by masons on the embrasure project that is without a doubt akin to the feeling shared by those who toiled here in the 1800’s knowing that soon the men would be returning to their hometowns or to Key West for several weeks of comfort. Read the rest of this entry »

By “Tortuga” Jack Hackett

Ah! The buzzards have landed in Hinkley, Ohio, the terns are filling Bush Key in the Tortugas and more than swallows are returning to Capistrano…signs, of course, that Spring is here and thus prominently appearing is the “B” word: Birds. Yes, this period of time sends birders packing out to the Dry Tortugas and to that masonry marvel Fort Jefferson in Key West, Florida. They are in a state of anxious euphoria steeped in anticipation for some 300,000 birds will soon be passing through. Read the rest of this entry »

Vessel New Orleans, an Army LCU (Landing Craft Vessel), visits Dry Tortugas National Park on January 10-13th 2008 in a cleanup operation. Hurricane damage from the four hurricane strike summer of 2006 left Dry Tortugas National Park with lots of rebuilding and repairing. The remoteness of the park makes garbage service a challenge, especially for larger items such as air conditioning units, old appliances and such. The New Orleans carried Waste Management dumpsters and a large Front End Loader to assist the Park Service personnel in eliminating trash items. The New Orleans has a permanent crew of four and is assisted by fourteen Army reservists.

By “ Tortuga” Jack Hackett

Well, whatever sound you would make to indicate a thunderous explosion from a cannon, resounding throughout the bricked vaulted ceilings of the casement or gun-room in which it is heard. The decibels produced would exceed those of a heavy metal rock band with the volume cranked to the max.

One might arrive at this conclusion while standing inside one of the casements at Ft. Jefferson. This is just one part of the fort’s awesome architecture evident amidst sixteen million bricks utilized in the construction of the fort that began in 1846.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Salty” the Hawksbill Sea Turtle Released at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park

On Sunday, October 28, 2007 Salty, a three-year-old Hawksbill turtle, was released at the Dry Tortugas National Park aboard the Yankee Freedom II. In July a local fisherman, Ed Sanchez, encountered a Hawksbill Sea Turtle with it’s front flippers entangled in a braided fishing line near the Boca Cheeca Bridge. Mr. Sanchez brought the helpless three year old turtle, later named “Salty”, to The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida where it was determined that she sustained multiple injuries to the back of her shell and front flippers. Read the rest of this entry »

By Wayne Landrum

After 26 years of working in National Park areas across the country, I moved to the Dry Tortugas; a unique and remote sub-tropical park. It is located in South Florida at the southwestern end of the Florida Keys. I was assigned the position of park manager for the 100 sq. mile park, a small group of islands surrounded by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

It was 1992 when I packed my bags and moved to the Dry Tortugas from Biscayne National Park in Homestead Florida. This was shortly after hurricane Andrew had blasted the southern tip of Florida. Read the rest of this entry »