Places

Our surroundings are powerful influencers on us. By standing in a place where historic events unfolded, and seeing, touching, smelling, and hearing everything around us, we can better connect with our past. Exploring Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island allows us to imagine what 1st Lieutenant Adam Slemmer and Colonel William Chase experienced on the eve of the American Civil War. Roaming Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island we can envision the beginning of Admiral David G. Farragut’s campaign to capture New Orleans, Louisiana in 1862 and Mobile, Alabama in 1864. At Rosamond Johnson Beach on Perdido Key, we can reflect on Jim Crow segregation laws and how Americans chose to remember Private Rosamond Johnson, a black soldier who was killed while rescuing fellow soldiers during the Korean War.

Gulf Islands National Seashore preserves and interprets places that provide powerful vantage points into the American narrative. They are here, waiting, for you to discover what lies beneath.

Gulf Islands Historic Places

A fort to protect a fort
Advanced Redoubt

Learn about the last fort completed as part of the third system of American fortifications.
Cat Island Training Center

A failed Dogs for Defense training center that operated in secret during World War II.
Bastion on the Bluff
Fort Barrancas

Learn about the features and Civil War service of the bastion on the bluff.
Ship Island Sentinel
Fort Massachusetts

Learn about the purpose, construction, and features of the fort on Ship Island.
A Fort Lost
Fort McRee

Learn about the features, Civil War service, and destruction of Fort McRee.
Guardian of the Gulf
Fort Pickens

Learn about the purpose, features, and construction of Fort Pickens.
Advancing technology
Fort Pickens Batteries & More

Concrete batteries and support structures modernized the Fort Pickens defenses in the late 1800s, early 1900s.
Planting Mines!
Fort Pickens Mine Support Structures

The mine command utilized several structures at Fort Pickens to support the underwater minefield at Pensacola Bay's entrance.
Advancing Technology
Perdido Key Batteries & More

Concrete batteries and support structures on the eastern end of Perdido Key worked in concert with Fort Pickens batteries.
At the Ready when needed
Santa Rosa Island Life-Saving Station

Learn about the Life-Saving Service at Santa Rosa Island.
Beacon of Safety
Ship Island Lighthouses

Lighthouses provided a safe beacon for ships approaching Ship Island nearly 100 years.