The Coast Guard has declared the lighthouse surplus property, and turned it over to the General Services Administration to be sold.

In the 1850s Egmont Key was used as a temporary holding area for Seminoles before they were shipped to the Indian Territory.

Union forces captured the island in July 1861 and used it as a base for attacks on Confederate ships and positions in the Tampa area.

A hospital at Fort Dade was used to quarantine all American soldiers returning from Cuba for ten days.

During World War I Fort Dade was used as a training center for National Guard Coast Artillery Units.

Egmont Key was put to military use again during World War II, as a harbor patrol station and an ammunition storage facility.