Historic Fort Morgan

While my family was in Gulf Shores this time for our annual vacation, we decided to take a morning and go explore the historic Fort Morgan. This is a naval war base right on the Gulf that is filled with a ton of history, good photography props, and lots of information.

We had a great time here. My son LOVES history so he was really excited to explore and see all that this historical fort had to offer.

When you first arrive into the parking lot, there are all these amazing cannons sitting around for you to explore. There is also a gift shop and museum that you can visit — although you cannot take any photos inside.

The kids and Stephen went inside to check it out and said it was very very neat and had lots of great information in there.

We got there right as they were raising the flags for the day which was really awesome to watch. The employees all dress from that era of time when Fort Morgan was in active service.

The thing that I think is really cool about Fort Morgan is that it is pet friendly — which means your pet can come with you on the trek to look at all the amazing and cool features of this naval fort.

My daughter's favorite thing about visiting Fort Morgan was not all cool historical information, but the architecture of the buildings and forts. I mean, she is a photographer, so I loved capturing her finding cool things to take photos of.

So here is a little about Fort Morgan . . .

Construction on Fort Morgan began in 1819. The fort was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mostly through the use of African-American slaves.

Brick and mortar were the only materials that could be obtained locally.

Other essential construction materials such as finished granite, sandstone, iron work, and cement had to be shipped by water from New York.

The fort was known as the “Work on Mobile Point” until April 1833. Then it was named to honor Revolutionary War hero General Daniel Morgan. Fort Morgan was completed in 1834.

Fort Morgan is SO easy to find. If you get on State Highway 180 and just keep going straight, you will drive right into it. The Barefoot Property that we stayed in is only minutes from Fort Morgan — not even a mile down the road!

We had a great time and really enjoyed learning all that there was to learn. This facility is not wheelchair accessible.

It is very bumpy and lots of bricks and holes like a cobblestone walkway and such. My mother in law decided to sit in the car while we explored. We enjoyed the breeze coming off the Gulf.