Fort Cummings (5)

Fort Cummings (5) (1839-1841) - A Seminole War Fort established in 1839 near Lake Alfred, Polk County, Florida. Named Fort Cummings by Major Wilcox after Lt. Colonel Alexander Cummings, 4th U.S. Infantry. Abandoned in 1841. Fort Cummings Site Marker. History Established on 22 Jan 1839 by Bvt Major Wilcox, Fort Cummings was located in present-day Lake Alfred, Polk County, Florida. The fort was one of a line of forts set up to protect the road from Fort Brooke at Tampa to Fort Mellon at Sanford. The first available post return is for March 1839 and it shows the post garrisoned by some 48 troops with 41 from the 3rd U.S. Artillery, Company E. The post is shown as commanded by 1st Lt. Braxton Bragg of later U.S. Civil War fame The fort's last available post return is for February 1841 and shows companies (A, K, I, & P) of the 8th U.S. Infantry and company F of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons in garrison for a total of 374 present. The post and the district are shown as commanded by Colonel William J. Worth, 8th Infantry Regiment for whom Fort Worth, Texas is named. Fort Cummings was abandoned the following month on 22 Mar 1841 Current Status Roadside Marker in Downtown Lake Alfred. Two markers for the fort are located in and around the town of Lake Alfred. The text marker shown on the left is a standard Flordia historical marker situated in downtown Lake Alfred at the intersection of West Pierce St and South Lake Shore Way, northwest corner. A second unique marker is placed just over the CSX railroad tracks across from the Adams Estate entrance at 2222 Lake Alfred Rd, Lake Alfred, Florida. This is probably the location of the 1839 fort. This marker has only the name of the fort and the dates and it has a unique style as can be seen in the picture above. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: On the north side of Pierce Street and the railroad in Lake Alfred, Polk County, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 28.090650 Long: -81.729754 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' GPS Locations: 28.090650, -81.729754 In Town Marker 28.089571, -81.746329 Fort Site Marker See Also: Fort Brooke Fort Mellon Seminole War Forts List Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, pages 160-161. Knetsch, Joe, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Cummings and the Fort Brooke to Fort Mellon Road, Sunland Tribune, 2000, Volume 26 01/01/2000 Pdf Post returns available Mar 1839 - Aug 1839, Feb 1841 at Ancestry.com (by Subscription) Links: North American Forts - Fort Cummings HMdb - Fort Cummings Visited: 23 Sep 2021