2022年12月23日 · Built by the Spanish in St. Augustine to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and interprets more than 450 years of cultural intersections.

St. Augustine’s first 100 years were plagued by poverty and pirate attacks. Beginning in its founding year of 1565, nine wooden forts were built one right after the other as rot, termites, storms, tides, and fires destroyed the fragile structures.

2018年3月19日 · Who would think that a fort made out of seashells would last three days under cannon fire? But the Castillo de San Marcos, made of local coquina stone, did just that. What exactly is this strange rock? How was it formed, and where did it come from? And how did this rock shape the history of St. Augustine? How Coquina is Formed

2017年8月11日 · Constructed to protect Spain’s settlement in St. Augustine from pirate raids, hostile American Indian tribes, and neighboring imperial powers, the fortification is a symbol of the cultural and imperial struggles that shaped early North America.

2023年5月19日 · Welcome to the Virtual Tour for the Castillo de San Marco National Monument in St. Augustine, Florida, brought to you through a collaborative research grant with the University of South Florida Libraries and the National Park Service.

The Castillo de San Marcos fits all of those definitions in one way, or at one time, or another. It is most definitely a large, fortified building that provided a retreat safe against invasion for the people of St. Augustine; at one time, it housed over 1,500 people for 51 days while the English laid siege!

The oldest masonry fortification remaining in the continental United States, Castillo de San Marcos formed the core of a system of defenses built to protect St. Augustine, Florida, which was the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States.

2020年6月3日 · Located fifteen miles north of Fort Matanzas, St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos serve as outstanding reminders of the might of the early Spanish empire and as reflections of European conflicts as countries battled for land and power in the New World.

2025年1月19日 · Visitation. The Castillo de San Marcos is open to the public seven days per week except Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday in November) and Christmas Day (December 25).

Walk through the fort's casements and take in the exhibits you'll find there. Available brochures and maps will guide you around the site. To access the self-guided tour on your device, download Castillo's park app on Android and iOS.