Fort Hancock Sundown Officers Row

by Regina Geoghan

Title

Fort Hancock Sundown Officers Row

Artist

Regina Geoghan

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Fort Hancock Sundown Officers Row by Regina Geoghan. Pale gold sundown light creates a warm glow over old, abandoned homes in a section called Officers Row at Fort Hancock, N. J. The former U. S. Army fort is located at Sandy Hook, National Gateway Recreation Area. A bit of history: Construction on the fort began in 1857. The original design was by Captain Robert E. Lee of the Army Corps of Engineers. As weaponry and confrontation styles changed over time, the fort expanded with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. In 1984, the Sandy Hook Proving Ground was established at the fort as a weapons testing area, primarily for coast defense weapons.
The fort was deactivated and reactivated multiple times, changing to meet the needs of WWs I and II and the Cold War. From 1956 until 1974 it served as Nike missile base. When the Nike program ended, the fort was deactivated for the final time. Hurricane Sandy did severe damage to many structures causing them to be demolished. The fort, basically abandoned, is now part of the National Parks of New York Harbor under the National Park System. A museum is managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, built in 1764 and the oldest working lighthouse in the United States, is located on the grounds of the fort.

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December 7th, 2023

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