Isla de Cabras

Isla de Cabras (Goats Island in English) is an islet located at the entrance of the San Juan bay in Puerto Rico.

Isla de Cabras is the current location of:

• Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, also known as El Cañuelo.
• A recently opened recreational park.
• A local police firing range.

However, it has been a place of many uses during its history.

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History

Spanish Fortification

Main article: El Cañuelo

Due to its strategic location at the entrance of the San Juan Bay, Isla de Cabras provided a strategic point for an effective crossfire with the Fort San Felipe del Morro to prevent incoming ships from entering. It also provided defenses for the entrance of the Bayamón River at the other side of the island.,

Leper Colony

At the end of the 19th Century, a leper colony was established in the island. In December 17, 1876, the governor of Puerto Rico, Segundo de la Portilla, set the first stone of the official building to house lepers, which was completed in 1883. However, it is believed that the colony was established before the construction of the building.

Upon the occupation of Puerto Rico by the American troops in 1898, the management of the building was handed to the government of the island. According to the 1910 US Census, there were 35 people living in the island at that time.

In 1926, a leper asylum was built in the main island (Trujillo Alto) next to a church, and the residents of the colony were moved there. However, the original building in Isla de Cabras still stands (see picture).

American Fortification

  In the 1940s, the United States inaugurated Fort Amezquita, a few hundred feet from El Cañuelo. During World War II, this fort served as a military reservation, or a "concrete gun battery" for the US Army. The base received its guns from Fort Delaware, Florida.

Shooting Range & Recreational Park

In recent years, the grounds that belonged to Fort Amezquita were turned by local police into a shooting range and training area. The remaining acres of land were disputed, and were finally transferred to the Department of Sports and Recreation.

Recently, the Isla de Cabras Recreational Park opened to the public with resting places for the family. The park has several gazebos available, plus a beach for swimming and fishing.

See also

• El Cañuelo