Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District | |
Location | Sandy Hook, New Jersey |
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Coordinates | 40°27′50″N 74°00′10″W / 40.46389°N 74.00278°W |
Built |
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Architect | Capt. Robert E. Lee, United States Army Corps of Engineers |
Architectural style | Third System (1857 fort), Endicott Program (Fort Hancock) |
NRHP reference No. | 80002505 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 24, 1980[1] |
Designated NHLD | December 17, 1982[2] |
Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township, New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The fort served from then until 1950 as part of the Harbor Defenses of New York and predecessor organizations. Between 1874 and 1919, the adjacent US Army Sandy Hook Proving Ground was operated in conjunction with Fort Hancock. It is now part of Fort Hancock Memorial Park. It was preceded by the Fort at Sandy Hook, built 1857–1867 and demolished beginning in 1885.
The Sandy Hook Light, built in 1764 and the oldest working lighthouse in the United States, is located on the grounds of Fort Hancock.[3]