Fort San Andres

Fort San Andrés was one of the oldest forts built for the defense of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Originally built on an offshore rock in the harbour, the site is now inland due to reclamation of the surrounding land. After the British captured Trinidad in 1797 the fort fell into disuse. A new building, built on the foundations of the old fort housed the "Commercial Newsroom", and later the harbour-master's office. The building housed various government offices, but when the Police Service Traffic Branch vacated the building in 1995 the decision was made to restore the building to its 1845 appearance and convert it to a museum of the City of Port of Spain. Several of the original cannons are still present and the foundations bear the date 1785.

The fort may have been built as early as 1757, but the first reference to the fort is in 1777. It saw action when the British captured Trinidad in 1797, but was unable to prevent them from landing.

References

*cite book | author=Anthony, Michael | title=Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago | publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London | year=2001 |id=ISBN 0-8108-3173-2
* [http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Places/places_FortSanAndres_museum.html Fort San Andres to Protect T&T Heritage] - Roger Ramcharitar, "Trinidad Guardian"