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1845-1866
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Construction of Fort
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1861-1865
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Civil War
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1898-1900
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Spanish American War
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WWl
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Fort manned by National Guard
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WWll
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Coastal guns removed & replaced with anti-aircraft guns
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1947
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Army turned Fort over to Navy to maintain
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1962
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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1964-65
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Park built with dredge material from ship channel dredging project
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1968
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Volunteers uncovered old armaments in the gun rooms from Civil War times (largest selection of CW cannons in US)
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1971
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Fort Taylor placed on National Register of Historic Places
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1973
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National Historic Landmark
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1976
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Land transfer to the State
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1983
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Key West Tree Commission (including the late Merilee McCoy) insisted the pines were not a pest in this location. Mark Glisson, Chief of FL DEP Bureau and Natural & Cultural Resources responded: “Due in large part to the local community support for the shade they provide and to the fact that they are growing on fill and do not pose a serious threat of spreading, there are not current plans for wholesale removal of Australian Pines at Fort Taylor’s beaches."
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2003
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Old Town City Hall: Park Manager sponsored an open-forum to discuss a slow removal of pines in phases along with the addition of pavilions and natives to replace the pine's shade. In the face of public outrage of a standing room only crowd, Park Manager said: “We will not go forward if there is a major opposition to removal of the pines at Ft. Taylor."
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2004
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Trial area planted with natives.
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2005
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On June 15, Key West City Commission passed Resolution #04-13 which supports mature pines remaining unless a safety hazard but does not support new growth.
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2006
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Monroe County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution #271-2006, urging the state of Florida to "designate the canopy of Australian pines at Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park as an exception to any exotic and invasive removal programs and initiate maintenance and controlled growth replacement programs."
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2008
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As a result of Save Our Pines receiving overwhelming public and political support the State of Florida DEP and State Rep. Ron Saunders signed a Memorandum of Understanding March19 allowing the Australian pines to remain.
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