FORT BROOKE
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FORT BROOKE |
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NAME: Fort Brooke COUNTY: Hillsborough ROADS: 2WD GRID: 3 CLIMATE: Fine BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime |
COMMENTS:
The site, pictured, is at the south end of Franklin Street on the right just before you cross the bridge over to Davis Island. It is under the Tampa Bay Convention Center and also under the Marriott. For detailed information visit the Tampa Bay History Center, which by the way is on top of the infirmary area. REMAINS: None, A few historical markers |
| In 1823 the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun ordered the establishment of a military post in Tampa, Florida. Colonel George Mercer Brooke was ordered to establish the military post with four military companies at a point located on the east bank of the Hillsborough River. This is where the river flows into Hillsborough Bay. The adjutant general of the War Department named it "Cantonment Brooke", later renamed Fort Brooke in 1824. Fort Brook went on to be a vital outpost during two major Indian wars. The tragic massacre of Francis Dade and 108 of his men by Seminoles began as a march from Fort Brooke to Fort Dade in Ocala. In 1842 the Indian wars ended and Fort Brooke had developed the small civilian community of “Tampa Town”. Nothing remains of the original fort. All vestiges of the fort have been torn down due to progress. The main area of the fort is under the Tampa Convention Center. The only remains from Fort Brook are the two cannons. They can be found on the University of Tampa Campus but are not marked as such. When building the Fort Brook Parking Garage the City of Tampa accidentally unearthed a forgotten cemetery that contained soldiers and Seminole Indians. The soldiers were reburied in military fashion and the Indians were reburied on the ground of the local Seminole Indian Reservation. Fort Brooke is a forgotten part of Tampa Bay's History. Submitted by: Mike Woodfin |
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