Fort Jackson-- Part 3: The Problem With Hurricanes

In the 1960s,  Leander Perez (quite a character) threatened to turn Fort St. Philip into  a prison for advocates of  desegregation ("outside agitators") who entered the Plaquemines Parish.

Due to the location of Fort Jackson, it is vulnerable to strong winds, pelting rain, and decimating storm surges from storms ranging from rough weather to deadly hurricanes.  The fort was inundated with twenty feet of water  from both Hurricane Betsy, a category four hurricane, in September 1965, and Hurricane Camille, a category five storm,  in August of 1969.

The fort was again badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge in 2005.  Between  Katrina and Hurricane Rita the following month, much of  the fort sat under water for up to six weeks.  Many of the historical exhibits in the fort were destroyed, and the fort itself suffered much structural damage.

Since the 1970s,  the grounds of Fort Jackson have been used for the Plaquemines Parish Fair and the Orange Festival.

The fort was used to treat oily birds in the early weeks of the Deepwater  Horizon oil spill.  The treatment facility was moved to Hammond, Louisiana,  on July 10, 2010, in order to make it less vulnerable to hurricanes.

--Old B-Runner