Fort Foster

For other uses, see Fort Foster (disambiguation).

Fort Foster Historic Site
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)


Location	Hillsborough County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Zephyrhills, Florida
Coordinates	28°8′57″N 82°13′11″W / 28.14917°N 82.21972°W / 28.14917; -82.21972Coordinates: 28°8′57″N 82°13′11″W / 28.14917°N 82.21972°W / 28.14917; -82.21972
Established	June 13, 1972
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Fort Foster
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Zephyrhills, Florida
Area	30 acres (12.1 ha)
NRHP Reference #	72000324^[1]
Added to NRHP	June 13, 1972

Fort Foster (now known as Fort Foster Historic Site) was a fort in central Florida, located 9 miles (5.6 km) south of current-day Zephyrhills in Pasco County.

Fort Foster was originally built in December 1836 under the direction of Lt. Col. William S. Foster on the site of Fort Alabama. On December 1st, 1836 Colonel Foster arrived at the site with 430 men to rebuild the fort and bridge that had been destroyed months earlier. By December 19th, he had erected 2 blockhouses, a large storehouse and a fort. Then on the 22nd, Col. Foster departed with 180 men, and 25 wagons with provisions and forage to resupply Fort Armstrong. The remainder of his men were tasked with completing the bridge and powder magazine.

On January 1st, 1837, Col. Foster boasted in a letter to Genl. R. Jones that, "the works at "Fort Foster" on the Hillsborough River. That Fort & Bridge form one of the best and strongest field fortifications ever erected against Indians."

Fort Foster was a strategic fortification built for the protection of the bridge and with more importance on the supplies within. Fortified supply depots were continuously placed deeper into Seminole territory to allow the soldier to operate in the field while they captured the hostile Seminoles.

The armament and supplies at Fort Foster consisted as follows: A six pounder and a howitzer with at least 100 rounds of ammunition for each. Forty thousand rounds of rifle powder and bullets. Fifty thousand ball and buckshot cartridges. Fifty thousand rations of subsistence and ten thousand bushels of corn. Tools of every description as well as iron, steel, nails, cordage, & etc. required for service in the field.

Fort Foster was garrisoned from January until March of 1837 by Navy Lieutenant Thomas J. Leib, 2 Midshipmen and about 50 Sailors from the USS Concord. Lt Leib was also provided with 20 artillerymen to man the six pound iron gun and twelve pound howitzer to defend the fortification and bridge.

The site was significant for skirmishes in February 1837 during the Second Seminole War, when 50 seamen from the USS Concord and 20 artillerymen resisted Seminole attacks and attempts by the hostile Seminoles to burn the bridge. That summer, the fort was abandoned because of disease among its forces.

Fort Foster was reactivated in the fall of 1837 to the summer 1838 to act as a supply post. Then it remained abandoned until 1841-1842, and again in 1849 when it only opened for short periods to meet the needs of the military when Seminole activity threatened.^[2]

The fort site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1972. A replica of the fort was constructed at the site by the state and opened to the public in February 1980. It is owned and operated by the Florida State Park system as Fort Foster State Historic Site, a part of Hillsborough River State Park.

References

↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ The Florida Bicentennial Trail

Gallery

Sign explaining background

External links

Fort Foster State Historic Site, Official Website
Hillsborough County listings, National Register of Historic Places
Hillsborough County listings, Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
"Fort Foster Historic State Park", Florida Parks
"Fort Foster State Historic Site", Wildernet
Fort Foster, The Florida Frontiersman

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Foster.

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Florida

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Lists by city	Miami

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