Fort Monroe is a military installation located at Old Point Comfort, which is located at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula. The fort was built in 1634 when the site was identified as a strategic defensive location, guarding the Jamestown Settlement 25 miles upriver. The principal facility was named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe. Throughout the Civil War, although most of Virginia became part of the Confederate States of America, Fort Monroe remained in Union hands. For several years after the war, Jefferson Davis, the former Confederate President, was imprisoned there.
Completely surrounded by a moat, the six-sided stone fort is the only one of its kind left in the United States that is still an active Army post. However, Fort Monroe is scheduled to close in September 2011. Several re-use plans are in development for the fort after it is decommissioned. Redevelopment will be facilitated by the fact that most of the land on which the fort stands was loaned by the state of Virginia to the federal government, and will revert to the state once the fort closes.
