Fort Lane, Florida Historic Marker.
Fort Lane was a supply depot built during the Second Seminole War near present-day Geneva, Florida.
During the war, General Thomas S. Jesup sent General Abraham Eustis on an expedition South from Fort Mellon to the headwaters of the St. Johns River to capture retreating Seminole Indians. Eustis traveled with a large force of over 2000 troops, 1000 horses, and 70 wagons tasked with establishing a line of support posts. Fort Lane was the first of these posts to be built, located about 15 miles away from Fort Mellon. Next was Fort Christmas, about 20 miles from Fort Lane.
Two companies of the 2nd United States Infantry, under Major Greenleaf Dearborn, established the fort on the West bank of Lake Harney on December 18, 1837. The companies averaged 125 Florida militiamen, including a fifer and a drummer. It was named for Captain John F. Lane of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons, who died in Florida in 1836.
The fort was abandoned in March 1838. No remains remain today, but a historic marker designates the site in Fort Lane Park at the waterfront on Fort Lane Road near Whitcomb Drive, East of Geneva.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.
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