Fort Kissimmee (Highlands County, near Avon Park, Florida)

Highlands County, near Avon Park · Florida · Seminole Indian Wars

Quick BriefFort Kissimmee was built in January 1850 in Highlands County, Florida, along the Kissimmee River. Used only intermittently due to malaria outbreaks initially, it was reactivated when the Third Seminole War erupted in late 1855, and closed in 1858. The fort left no standing remains, though a cemetery established by the civilian settlement that followed preserves its legacy.

Active base today

History & Significance

Established in 1849-1850 as part of a defensive line that General David Twiggs opened across central Florida from Fort Brooke to Fort Capron, Fort Kissimmee served a dual strategic purpose. Its early years saw intermittent use due to repeated malaria outbreaks among garrison troops, but reactivation came when the Third Seminole War erupted in late 1855.

Located on the west bank of the Kissimmee River, the post functioned as a supply point and defensive position during the conflict, until its abandonment in 1858. After the military withdrawal, the site transitioned to civilian use, fostering a small settlement that repurposed the abandoned military lands for ranching and agriculture after the U.S. government opened northern Florida to free-range cattle grazing in 1859.

In 1942, settlers were compensated to relocate when the U.S. government converted the surrounding land into a bombing range for the United States Air Force. Today, the fort itself has completely disappeared, but Fort Kissimmee Cemetery remains one of the oldest Florida Heartland pioneer cemeteries, located within the eastern boundary of the Avon Park Bombing Range.