Castillo de San Marcos: America's oldest stone fort
The history of St. Augustine’s famed Castillo de San Marcos is a story that begins at the discovery of a continent and continues to grow into the birth of a nation. By all accounts, the regal stone fort, which still stands guard today, is a national treasure of historical proportions.
To fully understand its significance, you must travel back through time to the 1565 Spanish arrival in Florida and their creation of America’s oldest city – St. Augustine. After constructing several wooden forts to fend off attacks from pirates and the threat of the British, Spanish forces ordered the building of a stone fort to protect their own interests in 1672.
The result was a massive hollow square with diamond-shaped corners made from coquina (meaning “little shells”) that were quarried from Anastasia Island across the bay and bonded together like limestone. The project was originally completed in 1695, but underwent several updates and expansions in the following years as it changed hands from Spain to Great Britain back to Spain and finally to the United States.
Today visitors can tour the monument, which has been carefully restored and preserved by the National Park Service. For the price of admission ($6 per person 15 and up) you will learn the history of the not only the fort, but also the city of St. Augustine.
Walk over the moat and past the giant wood and iron-gate that guards the front of the fort into the soldiers’ very own rooms, where carvings of ships and writing can still be seen etched into the walls. As you walk through the Plaza de Armas (the center courtyard), imagine how life must have been when the town came under siege and city residents packed into the fort for protection. See the chapel where mass was conducted by the Spanish. Notice how the British added their own craftsman ship to make the most of every space. Stoll along the cannon guarded walls of the fort, stand on each of the four bastions and peek into the corner tower where signals were sent across the bay. And don’t forget to stay long enough to see a weapon demonstration by period dressed re-enactors.
- by Christine Foster, Jacksonville Reporter for HelloMetro
(Click to leave a message)
Christine FosterChristine is a freelance writer currently living in North Atlanta. She has worked as a reporter for numerous newspaper, magazine and online media companies, including the Florida Keys Keynoter and The Sunday Paper in Atlanta. When she's not working Christine enjoys baking and antiquing.
