Fort Jay
Address:
Governors Island National Monument
Manhattan
Category: Harbor Defenses
Open seasonally. Ferry departs Battery Maritime Building.
Built: first established 1798
Owner: National Park Service
Designation:
Description: The Fort is located on the highest point of the island. It is surrounded by earthen covered walls and a star-shaped dry moat. Originally named for statesman John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Fort was rebuilt as Fort Columbus in 1803, and restored to Fort Jay in 1904. Three Rodman cannons with one-mile ranges are still in place from the Civil War. Fort Jay served as the First U.S. Army’s (first on beaches of Normandy) headquarters after WWII to 1966.
