Fort Screven Housing Batteries, Georgia

The coastal batteries of the former Fort Screven on Tybee Island are being integrated into private homes, and redeveloped in some unusual ways. Built starting in 1897, and boosted by the Spanish American War of 1898, the fort is a series of concrete gun emplacements protecting the mouth of the Savannah River, and its important port upstream. A nearby older fort, Fort Pulaski, was made of bricks and mortar, and was easily overwhelmed by Union forces armed with new weapons during the Civil War. This supported the transition to heavy reinforced concrete as a preferred material for fortifications. After World War II, the fort was decommissioned, the guns removed, and the region became a popular seaside community. However the thick concrete foundations, found at coastal forts all over the country, are nearly impossible to remove, and are frequently in places highly prized by developers, due to coastal locations, and scenic views of their surroundings.