Informational plaque Fort Denaud

     Fort Denaud is a region in Florida in Hendry County.  It was the site of a prior fort.  It is also it is the site of a former town of the name Fort Denaud.  In this area, there is a bridge crossing of the Caloosahatchee River.

     In the 1830’s in Florida, the combination of  increased white settlement and the relocation of Indian.tribes west of the Mississippi River led to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War.

     Captain B.L.E. Bonneville and his troops of the 7th Infantry built Fort Denaud in 1838.   It was one of multiple establishments linking American troops south of Tampa to the east coast of Florida. The fort was built on land owned by Pierre Denaud a French Indian trader. It was on the south bank of the Caloosahatchee River 27 miles from Fort Myers.  The fort served as a supply depot to troops in the Lake Okeechobee region. It was used on and off until 1842 (the end of the Seminole River)

      Fort Denaud was reopened in January, 1855 under Brevent Major William Hays after the outbreak of the Third Seminole War. The fort was destroyed by a fire in 1856.  A new fort was built on the north bank of the Caloosahatchee River a mile to the west of the original site.  The fort guarded the bridge over the river.  In 1858, the military establishment was abandoned.

     Near the Fort, a small farming village developed. Crops grown included citrus and sugar cane.   After the fort shut down the residents left the area.