Fort Tompkins

Fort Tompkins is one of the major fortifications in the Fort Wadsworth Reservation which is the oldest continuously manned military installation in the United States. Completed in 1861, Fort Tompkins is built into the crest of the hill above Battery Weed overlooking the Narrows. A low, polygonal structure, it stands on a platform carved out of the eastern side of the hill. The eastern facade, an uninterrupted stretch of smooth-faced granite, is barely visible from the water’s edge. In contrast, the rear, or western, facade of the fort, covered with rough-hewn granite, rises up in front of a deep dry moat. Fort Tompkins served primarily as a barracks for Battery Weed.

STATUS Designated Individual Landmark

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Erika Petersen: West End Preservation Society

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City Lore, Folklorist
Bronx Music Heritage Center, Co-Artistic Director

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