THE SECOND FORT LAUDERDALE

During the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), there were three military posts named “Fort Lauderdale” along the New River. In February 1839, the second “Fort Lauderdale” was established to the east of the first fort by Company K, Third Artillery, under the command of Captain William B. Davidson. Located on the north bank of New River at what is today approximately Southeast Ninth Avenue, the fort consisted of a two-story log blockhouse and tents surrounded by a stockade with a watchtower. A cemetery, privy and a garden were located just outside the stockade. With only occasional encounters from nearby Seminole Indians, boredom, disease, insects, and isolation weakened the soldiers’ moral. The officers’ wives and the occasional visit by a steamer enhanced the forts social life. Hunting and Fishing were popular activities and items such as liquor, books, and tobacco provided some diversion from soldiers. During the summer of 1839, works began on the third and final “Fort Lauderdale, “ located on a thin strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the New River Sound (now the Intracoastal Waterway). The beach Fort was completed by September 1839.