Fort Dallas is a
ghost townA ghost town is a town or city that has been completely abandoned by human inhabitants, usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as flood, government action, uncontrolled lawlessness or war...
that was located on the banks of the
Miami RiverThe Miami River is a river in Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami, Florida. The 5.5 mile long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
in what is now
Downtown MiamiDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
in
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the ninth most populous county in the United States...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Old Fort Dallas was established on the
plantationA plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined....
of Richard Fitzpatrick in 1836 as an U.S. military post and cantonment (and not as a fortification, although it is more than probable that there was a stockade surrounding it in its early days) in southern Florida during the
Seminole WarsThe Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between various groups of Native Americans, collectively known as Seminoles, and the United States. The First Seminole War was from 1817 to 1818; the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842; and the Third Seminole War...
. It was named in honor of Commodore
Alexander James DallasAlexander James Dallas was an officer in the United States Navy....
, US Navy, then in command of the US naval forces in the West Indies.
The first commandant was Lieutenant F.
Fort Dallas is a
ghost townA ghost town is a town or city that has been completely abandoned by human inhabitants, usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as flood, government action, uncontrolled lawlessness or war...
that was located on the banks of the
Miami RiverThe Miami River is a river in Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami, Florida. The 5.5 mile long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
in what is now
Downtown MiamiDowntown Miami is the central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. Brickell Avenue/Biscayne Boulevard is the main north-south road in downtown, and Flagler Street is the main east-west road in the Central Business District. As of 2009, there are approximately...
in
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the ninth most populous county in the United States...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Old Fort Dallas was established on the
plantationA plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined....
of Richard Fitzpatrick in 1836 as an U.S. military post and cantonment (and not as a fortification, although it is more than probable that there was a stockade surrounding it in its early days) in southern Florida during the
Seminole WarsThe Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between various groups of Native Americans, collectively known as Seminoles, and the United States. The First Seminole War was from 1817 to 1818; the Second Seminole War from 1835 to 1842; and the Third Seminole War...
. It was named in honor of Commodore
Alexander James DallasAlexander James Dallas was an officer in the United States Navy....
, US Navy, then in command of the US naval forces in the West Indies.
The first commandant was Lieutenant F. M. Powell, who remained in command about two years. From 1836 to 1857 it was occupied much of the time by troops, but was not a military reservation. Quite a number of buildings were erected, and today only two remain. In addition to these, there were a dozen comfortable dwellings besides the slave quarters, stables, and a blacksmith forge.
Fort Dallas remained in
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
hands during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
and was abandoned afterward. During the war, the place was occupied by refugees from many places, and at the close of the war by a hand of desperadoes. Judah P. Benjamin, of the Confederate camp, made his escape to Cuba through Indian River and Bay Biscayne. In describing the trip, he refers to the rough treatment he received at the hands of occupants of the fort, but, he added that it was a beautiful and picturesque spot, with its white houses and fine parade ground. The interior of the fort has been improved, and care has been taken to preserve the exterior unchanged.
When the soldiers left, the fort became the base for a tiny village established by William H. English, the new owner, which he called Miami. Some of the buildings were razed to the ground and removed to other locations, and in 1872, while the property was occupied by Dr. Harris, all the remaining buildings except the two still standing were burned, the fire originating accidentally in the house occupied by Dr. Harris.
In 1891,
Julia TuttleJulia DeForest Tuttle, was an entrepreneur, citrus farmer and businesswoman who was largely responsible for, and the original owner of, the land upon which the city of Miami, Florida, was built...
brought her family to live in a large home on the
Miami RiverThe Miami River is a river in Florida that drains out of the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami, Florida. The 5.5 mile long river flows from the terminus of the Miami Canal at Miami International Airport to Biscayne Bay...
that had been in use when Fort Dallas occupied the spot. Tuttle repaired and converted the home into one of the show places in the area with a sweeping view of the river and
Biscayne BayBiscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of south Florida. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts, North Bay, Central Bay and South Bay.North Bay lies between Miami Beach barrier...
.
The “barracks”, as they are called, remained on the site as the only remnant of the fort until 1924 when an apartment building was slated to occupy the site. The coquina stone building was disassembled in sections and moved to Lummas Park which is an another Miami riverfront site worth visiting sits on the north side of the Miami River at NW 4th Avenue and NW 3rd Street. This barracks served as plantation slave quarters, then as army barracks during the Seminole Wars, and, after being moved here stone by stone, finally as Julia Tuttle's home in 1891.
In 1895, following the successful efforts of Tuttle and fellow landowner
William BrickellWilliam Brickell joined Julia Tuttle as a co-founder of the city of Miami, Florida.Brickell and his wife Mary moved to southern Florida from Cleveland, Ohio in 1871...
to attract a railroad, Fort Dallas was part of the site of the new
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status...
of
Miami, FloridaMiami is a major coastal city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida. With an estimated population of 424,662 in 2007, Miami is the largest city within the Miami metropolitan area, which is the...
when Henry M. Flagler extended his
Florida East Coast RailwayThe Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad. It is currently owned by RailAmerica. The FEC is renowned for building the first railroad bridges to Key West, that have since been rebuilt into road bridges...
south from
Palm BeachThe Town of Palm Beach is an affluent incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
. Perhaps coincidentally, Tuttle, Brickell, and Flagler were all originally from
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border...
.