Fort Pickens, Florida, Gulf Island National Seashore

We took a tour of Fort Pickens at the Gulf Island National Seashore at Pensacola Beach area. The tour is conducted by a National Park Ranger every day at 2 pm. The tour is a walking tour throughout the fort with the ranger narrating. The ranger that gave our tour was very knowledgeable and interesting. This is a pic of the ranger standing on the fort's parade grounds.

Fort Pickens has guarded the entrance of Florida's Pensacola Bay for more than 175 years. Located on the western tip of Santa Rosa Island. (exploresouthernhistory.com)

Fort Pickens is the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacola Bay, Florida, and its navy yard. The fort was begun in 1829, completed in 1834, and was named in honor of Major General Andrew Pickens of the South Carolina militia, who fought with distinction in several Revolutionary War battles.

The ranger explained how this fort has stood the test of time and the arches are so strong withstanding multiple hurricanes. The arches were built in a circular method with half of the circle underground providing strength and stability. The photo below has a portion dug out of the sand to show the process.

In the 1880s, Geronimo and other members of the Chiricahua-Apache tribe were prisoners at Fort Pickens located at Gulf Islands National Seashore. We got to see the area where Geronimo lived with his family at the fort. The ranger stated that the Apaches were not imprisoned in cells but had full run of the island and that Geronimo could not swim and therefore couldn't escape. (nps.gov)