Fortín Conde de Mirasol

1845 Spanish fort above Isabel Segunda, now a small museum

The squat little fort on the hill above Isabel Segunda is the closest thing Vieques has to a historic monument. Its small museum walks through the island's complicated past — the Taíno, the Spanish, the sugar barons, and most painfully the six decades of US Navy occupation that ended in 2003.

The grounds give the best view in Isabel Segunda: out over the ferry dock, across the channel to the main island, and on a clear day all the way to St Thomas. Open Wednesday through Sunday; allow an hour.

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A story
The fortín was the last fortification built by Spain in the Americas, completed in 1845 — just over fifty years before Spain lost Puerto Rico in the Spanish-American War. It saw no significant combat and was used variously as a barracks, a jail, and a hurricane shelter before opening as a museum.