Fort Meade (Polk County, Florida)
Polk County · Florida · Second Seminole War
History & Significance
Established in 1849 by Lt. George Gordon Meade, Fort Meade was located on the Peace River in Polk County. An invisible line was drawn from Fort Brooke to Fort Pierce, along the Peace River Valley, separating settlers and their homesteads protected by the U.S. Military from the Seminoles to the south.
Gen. David Twiggs envisioned a line of forts stretching across the state, anchored by Fort Meade, which was being built near a destroyed village on the Peace River. The U.S. Army and the Florida Mounted Volunteers garrisoned the post.
Future Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was stationed at the fort in 1851. Fort Meade was eventually abandoned in 1854, before being reoccupied in 1857.
The town of Fort Meade, which had grown up around the fort, was destroyed by Union forces in the Battle of Bowlegs Creek in 1864. Afterward, the town was rebuilt.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Military outpost from Second Seminole War (1849) with preserved late-1800s buildings
- Over 300 homes listed on National Register of Historic Places
- Civil War-era history and community restoration
- Outdoor recreation hub in historic setting
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Meade,_Florida
- https://historicalsocietyoffortmeadefl.com/
- https://fortmeadeflmuseum.com/historical-fort-meade-1
- https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-meade-florida-military-post/
- https://floridaseminoletourism.com/what-actually-happened-no-peacetime-in-the-long-war/
- https://dos.fl.gov/library-archives/research/explore-our-resources/florida-history-culture-and-heritage/seminole-wars/
- https://dos.fl.gov/florida-facts/florida-history/seminole-history/the-seminole-wars/
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=56924