by Ken Kaye
July 2, 2014

It was one of several forts the U.S. Army built in Southwest Florida in the 1800s, allowing soldiers fighting the Seminole Wars to rest and regroup.

Fort Harrell was one of the more obscure outposts, wedged into a rugged swamp area, accessible mainly by boat. No great battles were waged there and no famous generals used it.

Yet three amateur explorers, led by a high school chemistry teacher, believe they have found its exact site and consider it an important historic find.

“It needs to be preserved and memorialized,” said Shawn Beightol, who led the expeditions to the site in the Big Cypress Preserve in Collier County. “I’d like to see a monument placed there for the people who served in that godforsaken location 170 years ago. Their story needs to be told.”…read more…