FORT DUVAL AND THE SUWANNEE RIVER

Captain Francis Langhorne Dade, U.S. Army and his 120-man Companies A,B,D,H and N, built Fort Duval in November 1826 at the mouth of the Suwannee River. The structure was 140 by 130 feet and six feet high with portholes for firing. The fort was named for territorial governor William Pope Duval. Fort Duval was built to guard the mouth of the Suwannee River. Indians used the river for many years, traveling to Cuba, the Bahama Islands and other places to trade and purchase goods. William Bartram witnessed this in his travels in 1774 while visiting the Indians up river from its mouth. In April 1818, General Andrew Jackson used the river to transport his wounded back to St. Marks after his Battle for Billy Bowleg’s Old Town, located on the Suwannee River. Fort Duval was destroyed by May 15, 1841. At that time, Capt. Cambell Graham wrote of Lt. Palmer’s survey of the mouth of the Suwannee River in search of the remains of Fort Duval. Time and tide have destroyed all traces of Fort Duval. The Suwannee River now carries fishing enthusiasts and sportsmen.