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The fort itself is quite small and offered little room for living quarters. Therefore* wocden barracks and other buildings were constructed on the island. The only rooms in the fort are two guard stations and two gunpowder magazines. The former are located on each side of the sally port or entranceway and are directly above two cisterns which offered a fresh water supply. Powder magazines are adjacent to these r^oms. Air vents between the rooms are unique. They are constructed to include twc right angles to insure that little could pass through them besides pdr..
The fort was built in the center of the western end of the island. A temporary bridge was erected across the drawbridge-well, so that ordinance could be transported into the fort. The drawbridge no longer exists, although portions of the tackle remain. Over the years, wind wave action had removed most of the sand from around the fort5 leaving it almost surrounded by water. In the spring of 1974. a sandfill was placed around the fort by United States Corps of Engineers.
EPILOGUE
The port on the island continued active after the Civil War. In 1880 a quarantine station was build to protect the coast from yellow fever brought in by passengers on the ships. The lumber‘trade flourished on the island prior to the opening of a channel into Gulfport' however* once trading vessels could get to the mainland, the importance of Ship Island diminished.
It became a popular recreation area when excursion boats began to take touriotn there. This was interrupted when the Armed Forces occupied the island during World War II., but was resumed afterwards.
The National Park Service received jurisdiction of Ship Island in December of 19/2 and it became part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Park Service is presently making plans to develop the island into a safe recreation area without altering its natural beauty.
Administrative offices for the area are located in the former ife.gnolia State Park in Ocean Springs.- A park manager> whose addi'oss is P.O. Box T, Ocean Springs; iiississippi 39564* is in irnme^ia to charge.
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