Fort Miley Military Reservation

The Fort Miley Military Reservation on Point Lobos, one of the outer headlands on the southern side of the Golden Gate, was acquired by the U.S. Army in 1893 and used as part of the seacoast defense of San Francisco Harbor during the early phases of America's involvement in World War II. As part of the overall project for the defense of San Francisco Bay, the construction of fortifications at Fort Miley began in 1899. Work began on November 27, 1899, on a battery for 16 12-inch mortars. The reservation was renamed Fort Miley in 1900 after Lieutenant Colonel John D. Miley, U.S. Volunteers, who had died in Manila, Philippine Islands, the year prior. Toward the west end of the reservation, Battery Chester, two (and later three) 12-inch rifled guns, were completed from 1902 to 1903. These weapons covered all three of the channels of approach to the Golden Gate--south, main and north.