executive director of the fort, renovated its exterior. Decommissioning and restoration In 1962, the federal government deeded Fort Mifflin to the City of Philadelphia. In 1969, architect John Dickey was responsible for restoring the Blacksmith Shop's bellows and forge. Fort Mifflin is still an active base for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is currently the oldest active U.S. military base and the only base in use that predates the Declaration of Independence. In the late 1970s, the Commandant's House at the Fort was destroyed by an accidental fire started by camping Boy Scouts. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Harold Finigan, the fort's executive director, worked with architects John Dickey and John Milner to restore the fort's artillery shed, hospital, mess hall, officers' quarters, kitchen wings, arsenal, soldiers' barracks, and north and west sally ports and seawall, and to construct a bridge over the moat at the fort's main gate. During restoration, it was determined that the exterior of the buildings had been yellow washed during Civil War era. In 2006, Wayne Irby rediscovered and unearthed the recently named Casemate #11 at Fort Mifflin. In August 2006, Dr. Don Johnson and a small group of volunteers uncovered and rediscovered the complexity of the fort's inner rooms and a trove of historical artifacts inside Casemate #11. Standing buildings Arsenal Artillery Shed Blacksmith Shop Sutler Building/Storehouse Soldiers' Barracks Officers Quarters Commandant's House Hospital/Messhall West Sallyport Casemates East Magazine Casemate #11 See also Eastwick Frankford Arsenal Harbor Defenses of the Delaware List of coastal fortifications of the United States List of forts List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia National Register of Historic Places listings in Southwest Philadelphia Philadelphia International Airport Philadelphia Lazaretto Schuylkill Arsenal Seacoast defense in the United States References Explanatory notes Citations Bibliography Further reading Alotta, Robert I, "Old Fort Mifflin: The Chain of Command" Shackamaxon Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America 1977, 20 pages Alotta, Robert I, "The Spirit of the Men of Mifflin" Shackamaxon Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America 1971, Alotta, Robert I, "The Men of Mifflin" Shackamaxon Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America 1971 Alotta, Robert I, "Old Fort Mifflin (1772-77 to 1972-77) Living History: A Meaningful Bicentennial" Shackamaxon Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America 1972 10 pages Alotta, Robert I, "Old Fort Mifflin: The Defenders" Shackamaxon Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America 1973 Alotta, Robert I, "Old Fort