Fortin de San Gerónimo de Baquerón
In 1609, Governor Don Gabriel de Rojas ordered the construction of the Fortin de San Gerónimo de Boquerón at Boquerón beach, the site of a small, four-cannon defensive battery. The location of San Juan on an islet, slightly separated from mainland Puerto Rico, rendered the city vulnerable along its entire periphery. In order to protect San Juan from enemy vessels, the Spanish government constructed defensive posts close to the bay's shallow eastern entrance. Improvements to the fort later constructed continued throughout the the 18th century.
Fortin de San Gerónimo, and the adjacent Fort of San Antonio, played an important role in San Juan's defense against British attack in 1797. When an English naval force of 60 ships and 3,910 men under Sir Ralph Abercrombie attacked, the men in San Gerónimo, under the command of Lt. Col. Don Teodmiro del Toro, resisted and forced a British retreat. After the attack, however, San Gerónimo lay in ruins. Rebuilt in 1799, it continued to serve as a military post until the early 20th century.
The Fortin de San Gerónimo de Baquerón is located at the eastern section of the San Juan Islet in the Puerta de Tierra area in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Fortin de San Gerónimo de Boquerón has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
Information and photos courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Puerto Rico Travel Itinerary, a subsidiary of the National Park Service.
