Fort Pickens...An Historical Treasure

Happy 100th birthday, National Park Service!

I recently went on a short vacation to Pensacola, Florida, when I saw one of my dearest friends married on Navarre Beach. We also visited the Pensacola Lighthouse, toured the National Naval Aviation Museum, explored Downtown Pensacola and spent a great amount of time wandering through Fort Pickens, today a National Park.

I'm going to share here 10 bits of trivia or tips that I picked up on during my visit to Fort Pickens.

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

1. Construction on Fort Pickens began in 1829, at the time one of forty forts to protect our coastal borders. It's of a pentagon shape, designed for more than 200 cannon and built with more than 21.5 million bricks! Constructions was completed in 1834, with quite a storied process.

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

2. When you visit, get a map, find a tour guide, do research. There is a considerable lot to explore and discover here...more than what we realized! I totally want to visit again when I return to Pensacola!

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

3. One summer morning in 1899, there was an explosion. 8,000 pounds of gunpowder showered debris across Pensacola Bay. Flying brick fragments killed Pvt. Earle Welles and injured Pvt. Henry Hopgood. Visitors can today still see signs of that deadly explosion.

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

4. To support the weight of the fort on a foundation of sand, engineers used arches...lots and lots of arches!

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

5. Fort Pickens, as well as Pickens County, Georgia, Pickens County Alabama, and Pickens, S.C. (where my mother is spending retirement years), are all named for General Andrew Pickens, a Revolutionary War soldier who was born in Pennsylvania and eventually called South Carolina home, where he passed in 1817.

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

6. Those are cannon platforms in the above photo. This fort is formidable and fascinating at the same time. 

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

7. Did you know that this is the 100th anniversary of our National Park Service? That made this visit to Fort Pickens even a little more special. Have you explored all 11 National Parks in Georgia? Since this post is about a State Park in Florida, I'd be remiss to not mention that there are also 11 National Parks in Florida. Go, explore, have a great time in our National Parks!

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

8. Fort Pickens is a fort within a fort! By the last 1890s, the brick and stone fort had become antiquated and no match for newer weapons. Completed in 1899, Battery Pensacola mounted two 12-inch rifles on disappearing carriages, that could be retracted after firing. Their 1,070 pound shells could be shot at targets eight miles away! 

You'll know it's Battery Pensacola because it's painted black—to reduce glare from the sand and water.

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

9. Fort Pickens closed in 1947, having been declared "surplus". Guns, railroad tracks, and steel towers were salvaged, leaving only concrete remains. Certain artifact were added later. A State Park in 1971, it joined and became part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, and will forever remain part of our history, present and future. I highly recommend a visit! 

Fort Pickens | Gulf Islands National Seashore, NPS | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

10. Fort Pickens also has a museum and an active fishing pier. We did not take advantage of those, but we did see the above pictured beautiful Blue Heron. He walked around with us for about 15 minutes! Stunning creature.

Fort Pickens offers a number of campground sites, so if you're looking to camp anywhere in or near Pensacola, this would make for a unique and rather fascinating choice!

Help the National Park Service celebrate its 100th birthday by visiting a National Park! You know you're going to have fun!

Emerald Mound

If you follow wanderlust ATLANTA's Facebook Page, you know that this past weekend I was on a short, long-weekend vacation in Natchez, Mississippi, and New Orleans...and yes, we drove from Atlanta.

Our first stop was Emerald Mound, only 10 miles northeast of Natchez. It's the second largest temple mound in the United States and was constructed by the Mississippians, ancestors of the Natchez Indians, and used between 1250 and 1600 A.D.

Emerald Mound, near Natchez, Mississippi

Emerald Mound is a National Historic Landmark, managed by the National Park Service, and is open to the public every day free of charge.

Emerald Mound, near Natchez, Mississippi

This mini vacation was with my best friend Barry who minored in geology in college. You may remember that my first dream career was to become an archaeologist, so Barry and I share a passion and fascination for archaeology and historic sociology, thus Emerald Mound being the perfect stop before heading on to Natchez.

That's Barry at the top of the Mound (photo above) with another friend (background) and vacation host/tour guide, who is from and lives in Mississippi.

Emerald Mound, near Natchez, Mississippi

At only eight (8) acres, Emerald Mound is one of the more modest National Parks I've visited, but it does not lack in fascination. 

Emerald Mound, unlike many other mounds built only as burial sites, was constructed to support temples, ceremonial structures, ceremonial dances, games, religious rituals, and burials "of a complex society's civic and religious leaders."

Emerald Mound, near Natchez, Mississippi

Emerald Mound was constructed by depositing earth along the sides of a natural hill. In a video at the Natchez Visitor Center, they suggest that the Mississippians had a great deal of free time, thus the incentive to build such a structure, but I have to wonder if that's totally accurate. 

I mean, surely they spent a great deal of time hunting and gathering, let alone creating a home life for their families. But then again, as busy as we are today, we still manage to build magnificent skyscrapers and space faring vehicles. But still, I have to wonder what the true motivation was to build such a remarkable landmark.

Emerald Mound, near Natchez, Mississippi

To put the size of Emerald Mound into perspective, it measures 770 by 435 feet at the base and is 35 feet high. Two smaller mounds sit atop the expansive summit platform of the primary mound (the smaller mound pictured above). The larger of the two is 190 by 160 feet and is 30 feet high, making it taller than a six story building!

Having ancestors who were Native American, I have more than a passing interest in Indian cultures. And how can one not be fascinated that this culture carried on their backs thousands of tons of earth to create this Mound?

If you're traveling to Natchez or the area, I highly recommend a stop at Emerald Mound. Perhaps you'll share my awe of this beautiful and sacred site...or at the very least a profound fascination.

ATLANTApix: MLK Birth Home

Martin Luther King, Jr. Birth Home

While the celebrations of Black History Month may be wrapping up, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. continue to reverberate throughout the world. King's birth home, part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site, is open year-round for those times you want to reflect on the impact of his works or need inspiration to forge forward with your own.

The MLK Birth Home, managed and operated by the National Park Service, was built in 1895 and purchased by King's paternal grandfather in 1909. Martin Luther, "ML," was born in the residence on the second floor on January 15, 1929. 

Tours are limited to a certain number, so be sure to plan ahead.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!