Fort Cummings, Florida Historic Marker.
Fort Cummings was established in 1839 near the shore of Lake Alfred in Polk County, Florida, as part of a line of forts to protect the Fort Mellon-Fort Brooke Trail.
The fort, named for Colonel Alexander Cummings of the Fourth Infantry, was erected during the Second Seminole War. It was established on January 22, 1839, and occupied by detachments of the First and Second Infantry and the Third Artillery.
In 1841, the fort witnessed an interesting event when Seminole Chief Wildcat appeared at the fort attired in the full regalia of a member of a Shakespearean cast. The year before, in 1840, Wildcat and his band attacked a theatrical group between Picolata and St. Augustine. After killing the men of the party, they escaped with the costumes belonging to the troupe. These, he and his band wore as they approached the fort.
The Fort was abandoned in the mid-1840s. No remains are present today, but a historic marker located at the intersection of South Lake Shore Way (U.S. 17/92) and West Pierce Street in present-day Lake Alfred, Florida, designates the site.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated April 2026.
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