Fort Brooke: Difference between revisions

In 1823, Colonels [[George Mercer Brooke]] and [[James Gadsden]] of the [[United States Army]] were ordered to establish a military presence on [[Tampa Bay]] in the newly- acquired [[History of Florida|Florida territoryTerritory]] to contain the [[Seminole]] Indians according to the [[Treaty of Moultrie Creek]] and to curtail illegal activities along the [[Gulf of Mexico|gulf coastGulf]] coast.<ref>Brooke, G. M., & Covington, J. W. (1953). The Establishment of Fort Brooke: The Beginning of Tampa. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 31(4), 273–278. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30138907</ref> On 10 January 1824, Brooke and four full companies of the [[U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment]] from [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]] established '"Cantonment Brooke" at the mouth of the [[Hillsborough River (Florida)|Hillsborough River]], just about where today's [[Tampa Convention Center]] sits in [[Downtowndowntown Tampa]]. The site was marked by a huge [[hickory]] tree set atop an ancient [[Indian mound]], most likely built by the [[Tocobaga]] culture centuries before. Brooke directed his troops to clear the area for the construction of a wooden log [[fort]] and support buildings, but he ordered that several ancient [[live oak]] trees inside the encampment be spared to provide shade and cheer. In 1824, the post was officially rechristened Fort Brooke.

Fort Brooke would serve as a major outpost on Florida's [[Floridawest Suncoast|Suncoast]]coast during all three [[Seminole Wars|Seminole Indian Wars]] and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The fort also played a part in the development of the village of Tampa. In October 1863, the small Civil War [[Battle of Fort Brooke]] was fought nearby. On May 6, 1864, both Fort Brooke and Tampa were captured by [[Union Forces(Civil War)|Union]] forces. As Tampa languished during the 1870s and early 1880s, so did Fort Brooke. The last [[wikt:roll call|roll call]] of soldiers occurred in 1882 and the post was decommissioned by the USU.S. Army in 1883.

==FortClosure Brookeand as an incorporated town==

After the fort's closure, most of the land was open to homesteaders, and some garrison buildings remained on site.<ref name="rajtar">Rajtar, p. 17.</ref> Shortly after the post was decommissioned, Fort Brooke became an independent [[incorporation (municipal government)|incorporated]] town in 1885;.<ref>{{cite however,web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/US_Mayors2.html|title=Mayors theof town'sU.S. charterCities dissolvedM-W|work=worldstatesmen.org|access-date=12 whenNovember it2015}}</ref> Fort Brooke was annexed by Tampa in 1907.<ref>http: name="rajtar" //www.worldstatesmen.org/US_Mayors2.html</ref>

[[Tampa-Fort Brooke, Florida|Tampa-Fort Brooke]], ''a single [[census tract|census unit]] recorded by the'' [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] in [[United States Census, 1850|1850]].

* [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20050829082652/http://tampabayhistorycenter.org/ftbrooke.htm History Time Line of Fort Brooke]: From Tampa Bay History Center

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Hillsborough County, Florida]]

[[Category:Seminole Wars|Brooke]]