The proving ground and parts of Fort Hancock are now property of the National Park Service and mostly closed to the public.

Rifled cannon fired pointed-nosed projectiles farther and faster than cannonballs and ironclad warships with mounted guns that could destroy the walls of a traditional fort.

A huge granite five-bastioned fort near the northern end of the Hook dominated the area, even though it was still incomplete and was destined never to be completed.

It was decided to lay out the Proving Ground on the eastern margin of the Hook, just below the southeast bastion of a Civil War-era fort.

Because of the period of time involved, the bulk of the weaponry designed, built and installed for coastal defense under both the Taft and Endicott Boards were tested at Sandy Hook.

When Fort Hancock was commissioned in 1895 as a Coast Artillery Post, it shared the peninsula with the Proving Ground.

The "Proof Battery," where new and converted guns would be fired, was built at the northeastern end of Sandy Hook along the ocean side.

To test the guns' striking power, armor-piercing projectiles were fired at large, thick iron plates, similar to those used in making warships.

Sandy Hook Proving Ground became a permanent installation in 1903 and continued to test weapons through World War I.

[8] A dual military command existed with the Sandy Hook Proving Ground – contained within the site of Fort Hancock – continuing to test ordnance equipment while the Coast Artillery Corps exercised the harbor defense mission for New York Harbor.