Today it is part of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, reduced, however, to a relative speck[1] consisting of the foundations of the fort.

[4] A March 1888 Nor'easter, referred to as the Great Blizzard of 1888, caused a break in the peninsula, permanently turning the point into an island.

It was one of a number of batteries built shortly after the outbreak of the war, as it was feared the Spanish fleet would bombard the US east coast.

Most forts of its era were started based on recommendations of the 1885 Board of Fortifications and were already under construction (though years from completion) when war broke out.

The shifting sands caused continuing problems for the fort, and it was abandoned in 1924 and transferred to the state as part of a post-World War I drawdown of coast defenses.

[9] During World War II the fort was used for bombing practice and this, combined with erosion, reduced it to its present state where it is popularly called "The Ruins."

[10] The state of New York briefly considered turning it into a park but it is deemed a navigational hazard because of the possibilities of unexploded ordnance.