Fort Pio Pico
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Fort Pio Pico (1901-1919) - An Endicott Period Coastal Fort first established as a sub post of Fort Rosecrans in 1901 on North Coronado Island Military Reservation, San Diego County, California. Named Fort Pio Pico in G.O. 20, 25 Jan 1906, after Pio Pico, Governor of California under Mexican rule. Abandoned in 1919 and turned over to the Navy in 1935. Endicott Period (1890-1910)Part of the Harbor Defense of San Diego. The only `Endicott Period battery built on Fort Pio Pico was the 3" Battery Meed. This lone battery was accepted for service in 1902 without either the carriages or the guns. The carriages arrived on 26 Nov 1909 and the tubes guns arrived sometime after that. By 13 Apr 1910 the battery was fully armed. There were very few structures at Fort Pio Pico besides the gun battery. The 1916 plan shows a caretaker cottage, a cookhouse, a boardwalk and a searchlight installation. Troops to man the gun battery were brought by boat from Fort Rosecrans and landed at a small wharf. In 1914 the battery suffered some damage from a storm that limited its usefulness.
World War I (1917-1918)A board was convened at Fort Rosecrans on 10 Mar 1918 to select a new site for the two 3" guns in Battery Meed. A recommendation was made to mount the guns in the empty Battery McGrath on Fort Rosecrans. The recommendation was forwarded to headquarters for approval and by 18 Jul 1918 the guns had been transferred. The post was abandoned by the Army in 1919 and transferred to the Navy by executive order 7215 dated 26 Oct 1935. World War II (1941-1945)There is some indication that an AMTB battery was built on the site of the old Fort Pio Pico in 1942-1943 and then transferred to the old Battery Fetterman on Fort Rosecrans in 1943. This could not be substantiated in the available records.
Current StatusPart of North Island Naval Complex, San Diego County, California. Nothing remains of the post.
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