Travel Photography Photos tagged as forts
A view of the front wall and yard. The buildings in the far corner are replicas, the originals were used as barracks and living quarters.
The large building at the rear of the Fort is the Rotchev House, the only original building left. It was known as the New Commandants Quarters.
This room is set up as a typical quarters for a workman at the Fort, such as a carpenter or blacksmith. Their sleep mat might be on the floor instead of a bed frame, pretty sparse furnishings.
Johann Sutter kept his quarters close to the arms room. He wanted to be able to act quickly to organize & lead defenses if the Fort were attacked.
This is a view of the SE Bastion from inside the Fort's courtyard.
Sutter's Fort contained cannon, it was a military outpost as well as a self contained community.
There was a school group preparing for an overnight camp at Sutter's Fort while we visited. A couple of the fathers were roasting some meat for dinner.
Some of the parents and teachers were preparing to bake in a replica outdoor oven, such as was used at Sutter's Fort during the mid 1800's.
This is Mom and our friend, Pam, outside Sutter's Fort in Sacramento.
Mom and I are posing with one of the adults in period garb - a school group was preparing to stay overnight and everyone, kids - parents and teachers had to dress and act appropriatly for the period.
These kids are playing the roles of Mexican Soldiers, American Immigrants or Native American's for their overnight stay at the Fort.
This is the main gate into Sutter's Fort from inside the courtyard.
Johann Sutter tried to make his fort a completely self sufficient community. To that end, he had a blacksmith shop as well as several other enterprises.
I liked seeing this set up as it would have been in the 1800's. They probably actually grind flour on this as part of their reenactments.
This is a farm wagon, which was also often used by pioneers who crossed the west in search of land. Sutter advertised and encouraged settlers to move west and welcomed and assisted them upon their arrival.
A Cooper makes barrels, which were used to store things, ship things and sometimes make things (such as the butter churns in the foreground).
This is right outside of Sutter's Fort. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside.
and ribat
This is the oldest surviving masonry fort in the continental United States, completed in 1695.
This is a photograph of how Fort Matanzas looked in 1912, before the Park Service restored it.
The roof above was flat, so I suspect the curved ceiling is to provide strength against bombardment.
The Spanish didn't build fireplaces on the St. Augustine forts. Heat, if needed, was provided by small charcoal fires in something like this.
Fort Matanzas is on an island and only accessable by NPS Ferry.
This is a model of how the fort would have looked in it's prime - with a white plaster coating.