Fort Hancock, New Jersey

Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor. Between 1874 and 1919, Fort Hancock was operated in conjunction with the US Army's Sandy Hook Proving Ground. It is now part of Fort Hancock Memorial Park.



In 1893, Fort Hancock installed the nation's first disappearing gun battery at Battery Potter. It played a vital role during World War II guarding the entrance to New York against German U-Boat attacks during the Battle of the Atlantic. In the late 1950s anti-aircraft missiles from Project Nike were based at the fort.

Fort Hancock was decommissioned in 1974. It is now part of the National Parks of New York Harbor under the National Park System. A museum is managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. In 2013, the Park Service introduced Nubian goats to the fort in order to clear away Poison Ivy that has been growing unchecked on the 6-acre property for about 40 years.