Fortín Conde de Mirasol

Built on top of a hill in Vieques, construction of El Fortin Conde de Mirasol (The Count of Mirasol Fort) began in 1845 under the orders of former Puerto Rican governor Count of Mirasol, don Rafael Aristegui y Velez. Construction was complete in 1855. The fort was home to the island’s armed forces and built with cannons. It was critical in the ability to stave off invasion from the French, Dutch, British and Danish colonists as well as pirates. Since 1991 it has been used as the Vieques Museum of Art and History and the Vieques Historic Archives. Exhibits feature artifacts from the early inhabitants that lived in Vieques before the Spanish came and a wide collection of objects artifacts from the Taíno Indians who occupied this territory hundreds of years ago. The Count of Mirasol Fort also documents the island’s production of sugarcane and on the U.S Navy that was stationed there for many years.

Fortin Conde de Mirasol, Vieques, Puerto Rico