drained fields so that maize could be cultivated includes that one of the earlier ditches did not cut through the hardpan in at least some places. The soil at Fort Center has low fertility, high acidity, and high levels of aluminum, and thus is not suited for growing maize. Milanich also notes that the raised ridges and circles in South America that Sears cites as the models for the structures at Fort Center differ in important details from Fort Center. An analysis of dental wear indicates that the Period II residents of Fort Center did not depend on horticulture for their diet, and any use of maize did not contribute significantly to their diet. 19th century During the Second Seminole War Fort Center, a palisade of cabbage-palm trunks, was constructed on the northeastern edge of the Great Circle, on the banks of Fisheating Creek. The fort was named after Lieutenant J.P. Center, who was killed in the Battle of Lake Okeechobee during the Second Seminole War. Fort Center was one of several strategic forts for supplies for the war effort around Lake Okeechobee. In 1842, a reconnaissance party of 83 sailors and marines (along with a Seminole guide and his wife and child) led by United States Navy Lieutenant John Rodgers traveled in 16 dugout canoes from Key Biscayne through the Everglades, across Lake Okeechobee and up both the Kissimmee River to Lake Tohopekaliga, and Fisheating Creek to the head of the open stream, before returning to Key Biscayne. Fort Center had been abandoned by then, and the expedition had to repair the palisade when they occupied it for a few days. The expedition found evidence that Seminoles had been living in the area of Fisheating Creek, but did not encounter any in the course of the 60-day expedition. Fort Center was reactivated during the Third Seminole War (1853–55) as a station on a military road from Fort Myers to Fort Jupiter, with part of the route using canoes to cross Lake Okeechobee. No trace remains of the blockhouse, which may have been eroded by the river. Notes Citations References (some pages hidden) Glades County, Florida Archaeological sites in Florida Mounds in Florida