Fort Crockett celebrates 100 years on island

GALVESTON — The last 100 years of Fort Crockett were on display Thursday as employees of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service marked the fort’s role in the city of Galveston.

The employees at the fisheries service, which is part of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, celebrated the historic fort named in honor of Davy Crockett and the permanent buildings that were built on the island 100 years ago.

“It was a fort before, and now, it’s a science laboratory, and so, we have 50 years of its military history and now 50 years of science history,” Roger J. Zimmerman, director of the fisheries lab, said.

John L. Nau III, the president and chief executive officer of Silver Eagle Distributors — the nation’s largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products — was the event’s keynote speaker. Nau, who was introduced by Zimmerman, discussed the value of the Preserve America initiative. Nau also is a former chairman of the Texas Historical Commission.

“My commitment, not only to Roger and this facility but to everyone here in Galveston, is to use the power of all these various assets and tie them back together to encourage heritage, cultural and educational tourism,” Nau said.

The celebration, themed “From Soldiers to Science,” chronicled the fort’s beginnings from 1897, when the U.S. government bought 125 acres between 45th and 49th streets on Galveston’s beach front for $35,000.

The 1900 Storm, still the deadliest natural disaster in the nation, destroyed most of the fort and killed 29 of the 129 soldiers living there.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made repairs, and in 1903, the fort was named after Davy Crockett, a pioneer who died defending the Alamo.

In 1911, the Post Exchange, barracks, lavatories and mess halls were built from concrete.

The fort housed an estimated 3,000 troops during World War I and was used during World War II with the threat of German submarines entering the Gulf of Mexico to sink merchant ships.

In 1943, the fort was used to hold prisoners of war and housed a total of 650 prisoners.

After the war, the fort was deactivated. In 1948, it became the Galveston Recreation Center for the Fourth Army.

Fishery research started at the fort in 1950, and seven years later, it was acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries acquired 10 buildings there.

The fort was transferred to the National Marine Fisheries Service in 1970, and the Department of Commerce began renovating the complex in 1998.

The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary moved its offices to the Post Exchange building in 2006.

The fort is an asset to Galveston, the state and nation, Zimmerman said.

“It’s an economic asset, being able to draw tourism here to Galveston,” Zimmerman said. “And NOAA has helped elevate it to that level of national importance through its Preserve America program.”