PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – Florida has plenty of strange ghost towns, such as a community built on stilts and an abandoned logging neighborhood.
However, this one was rated as the “creepiest” ghost town in the Sunshine State, according to Thrillist.
The ghost town — Fort Dade — is located on Egmont Key, which is only accessible via boat at the mouth of Tampa Bay.
“Although the lighthouse is still in operation, the rest of the town is in ruins, with deteriorating brick roads and staircases leading to military batteries that no longer protect Tampa Bay,” Thrillist writes.
While the island has origins that date back all the way to the 1700s, Fort Dade was established in 1898 to help protect the area during the Spanish-American War.
As the fort was constructed, the population on the island grew, sparking a small city on Egmont Key. At its peak, the population reached over 600 people, historians say.
During World War I, the island became a training center for the National Guard Coast Artillery, and with so many people living there, new barracks, mess halls, officer quarters and more had to be built.
In fact, the island city sported electricity and reportedly featured a hospital, a jail, tennis courts, a movie theater and even a bowling alley.
However, not everything was hunky-dory.
Mosquitos and rattlesnakes (which are still an issue to this day) were a constant worry for many on the island, and having to rely on goods being shipped in — often at great expense — was also incredibly irksome for the town’s inhabitants.
After World War I, technological advancements in military hardware rendered the fort obsolete, as battleships were then capable of firing from outside of the fort’s range. As a result, Fort Dade was deactivated in the early 1920s, and nearly all of the residents were vacated or transferred elsewhere.
In the years to follow, the Coast Guard used Egmont Key as a firing range, and the Tampa Bay Pilots Association set up operations on the island to help guide ships.
Unfortunately, the island has been wracked by fires since Fort Dade was deactivated, leading to the destruction of many of its facilities.
Today, the city only has one permanent resident left: the park ranger “Mr. Tom.”
He lives in a private home on the island’s northern half by the old lighthouse, and he regularly takes his ATV out on the island’s trails while doing patrols.
Behind the ranger station is a cemetery that holds the remains of soldiers from the Spanish-America War, a lighthouse tender, family members of previous lighthouse keepers, and Seminole people who were detained on the island in the 1800s.
Taking a trail south from the ranger station will bring visitors to an old brick road that was used by residents when Fort Dade was still active.
The road stretches across much of the island, taking visitors through the remains of the ghost town.
In addition, there are still three major batteries — fortified buildings meant to guard Tampa Bay from intruders — remaining on the island.
Following the brick road long enough will take visitors to the first of these: Battery McIntosh.
McIntosh is the southernmost of the three batteries, and it’s also the first to be built.
Stairs allow guests to climb on top of the old battery, though the encampment floods easily during the rainy season, meaning its hallways are often flooded and difficult to maneuver.
[SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW IMAGES OF BATTERY MCINTOSH]
Continuing on, the island’s trail next leads to Battery Guy Howard, which is the youngest of the three.
This battery was named after Maj. Guy Howard, who was killed in the Philippines in 1899 as part of the Philippine-American War.
This was also the first of the three batteries to have its guns removed, as they were used on the European front during WWII.
[SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW IMAGES OF BATTERY HOWARD]
Last up is Battery Mellon, the northernmost battery that remained in operation until 1920, which is when the military determined that its guns were unsafe.
After the fort was shut down, Mellon became overgrown with invasive plants, which damaged much of the structure.
However, volunteers cleared away much of the vegetation in the 1990s, meaning visitors can once again explore the massive building.
[SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW IMAGES OF BATTERY MELLON]
Beyond the abandoned ghost town, Egmont Key also features a broad shoreline, which is great for visitors who want to relax on the beach or hunt down shells.
It’s also reportedly a great spot to find washed-up shark teeth, too.
To get to the island, visitors can either take their own boats or buy tickets to the Egmont Key Ferry through Hubbard’s Marina.
The ferry picks up guests from the beach at Fort De Soto, taking them out to the island for a three-hour excursion. Outside of busy seasons, guests are few and far between, so many visitors will get the chance to wander Fort Dade’s ruins at their own leisure.
While on the island, guests are invited to seek out a “secret” bunker.
Here’s a hint: make sure to keep an eye out for the fire control towers.
Unfortunately, the island is in a bit of a crisis, which means these structures may not be around in the long term.
Since the early 1940s, Egmont has lost around half of its land mass thanks to beach erosion and a rising sea level, with its original 500+ acres being reduced to a mere 250 acres today.
As a result, The Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges are trying to build support for an initiative to bring more sand to the island. For more information about the project, click here.
Meanwhile, News 6 has included plenty of pictures from across the island in the gallery at the top of this story.
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