Castillo de San Marcos
The Castillo de San Marcos was the 10th fort built in St. Augustine. Flooding, fire, and the subtropical climate destroyed the nine previous forts. The construction of the fort occurred for two reasons: pirate Robert Searles’ English-sanctioned attack on St. Augustine and the construction of the English city of Charles Town in South Carolina.
The fort was built on the site of a limekiln between 1672 and 1695 out of coquina stone quarried on nearby Anastasia Island. The Spanish Crown allotted 10,000 pesos for the fort. It took 23 years and over a hundred thousand pesos to build the fort. The construction of the fort encouraged immigration and expansion of the town.
Between 1730 and 1760, the fort underwent major renovations, as evident through the archaeological record. The most recent archaeological investigation took place on the fort’s the gun deck. This excavation established that the gun deck was not repaired in even layers of tabby, but the construction depended on the materials available, technological abilities, time limitations, and the period of construction. Also discovered was a series of evenly spaced spikes to support tents or small wooden buildings possibly associated with the Civil War activity or the 1870s incarceration of the Southern Plains Indians.
In 1821, when Florida became an American territory, the US War Department renamed the Castillo Fort Marion after the Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. It remained an active military establishment until 1900 and in 1933 the US Department of Interior made the fort a national monument. Today, it is recognized as the oldest masonry structure in North America.
Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Kelcie Lloyd
