Fort Tyler

Fort Tyler was a coastal fortification on Gardiners Point Island, a small island off Gardiners Island, in Gardiners Bay, at the eastern tip of Long Island, New York.^[1]^[2]

The fort was constructed in 1898, during the Spanish American War, to protect Long Island from the danger of bombardment from Spanish Naval vessels.^[1]^[2] The fort was equipped with two 8-inch (203mm) rifles and two 5-inch (127mm) rifles.^[3] The fort was abandoned in 1920 and President Franklin Roosevelt made it a bird reserve in 1938. During World War II, United States Naval forces used the fort as a target.

The fort may contain unexploded ordnance, so landing is prohibited.^[4]

[1]
Aaron Boyd; Colin M. Graham (2009-07-02). "Sixty-Something: Gardiner's Island - The Mysterious Private Island Of East Hampton". Hamptons magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-14. Dubbed the Fort Tyler Battery after President John Tyler whose wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler was born on the island, the structure remained in use until it was abandoned in 1920 due to erosion. In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt declared the tiny island a National Bird Refuge and transferred the battery over to the Agriculture Department, which presumably lasted until World War II when the Navy, having a sizable presence in Montauk at the time, began using the concrete structure for target practice, reducing the historic battery to its current "ruined" condition.
[2]
T.J. Clemente (2020-09-14). "Sixty-Something: Gardiner's Island - The Mysterious Private Island Of East Hampton". Hamptons magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-14. Then, in 1938, the island (the fort is an island at high tide) was declared a National Bird Refuge by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and transferred to the Agriculture Department. However, during World War II, Fort Tyler was used for target practice and was reduced to its present state where it is popularly called 'The Ruins.'
[3]
"Forts: Fort Tyler". New York State Military History Museum. Retrieved 2020-09-14. Closed in the late 1920s. Status of batteries in 1921 was; Battery Smith, 2 - 8" Disappearing, 2 - 5" Pedestal.
[4]
T.J. Clemente. "Orient Point: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, And The British Fleet In The Hamptons". Hamptons magazine. Retrieved 2018-11-18. It may have been the shelling of Sag Harbor that led to the construction of Fort Tyler in 1898 at the western tip of Gardiner's Island a point separating Gardiner's Bay from Block Island Sound. The old fort is now referred to by sailors as the 'ruins.' Closed after World War I in 1921, the fort became a target for live practice bombing runs during World War II. Live ordinance is reportedly still there, or so a 'danger' sign warns.

41°8′29″N 72°8′46″W

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