Fort Jackson is a decommissioned masonry fort located some 40 miles up river from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was constructed as a coastal defense of New Orleans between 1822 and 1832. The fort was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina storm surge in 2005. Between Katrina and Hurricane Rita the following month, much of the fort sat under water for up to 6 weeks. Many of this historic exhibits in the fort were destroyed, and the fort itself suffered structural damage. The fort is not yet open to the public two years after the storm.