Fort Livingston

Grand Terre Island was Jean Lafitte's pirate headquarters before the federal government built a fort there in 1841. Fort Livingston stands alone as the only fort on Louisiana's Gulf of Mexico coastline and one of the largest coastal forts in the state. The government abandoned it after the Civil War. The ruins have been eroding since. You cannot walk to it. The island is off-limits. Boat tours from Grand Isle pass close enough to see what's left, and the observation tower at Grand Isle State Park gives you a sight line across the water. Fort Livingston was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1974. The reason to go is to see what the Gulf takes back. A federal fort built on a pirate's island, now returning to the water that made both possible.