The June 11th New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that Fort Pike was to reopen that day. It was built between 1818 and 1821 as a defense for the city.
In 1861, Confederates took it over and held it until Union troops took the city in 1862. During the rest of the Civil War it was used as a base for raids along the Gulf Coast and Lake Pontchartrain. It was abandoned in 1890, after never having fired a shot war. In 1972, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is now connected by US Highway 90 near what is called the Rigolets It was decaying before Hurricane Katrina, whose storm surge completely submerged it. Reopened in 2008 and then Hurricane Gustav closed it again.
Lots of debris was removed and repairs made, and, on June 11th, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landview officially reopened it.
And I Had Never Heard of This Fort Before. --Old B-Runner
