Photo Credit: @capturing_creative

Castillo de San Marcos is a monument that symbolizes conflict from the past. It is located on state road A1A overlooking Matanzas bay in the historic district of St. Augustine. The fort is made of coquina which is a rock made from seashells. It is formed from tiny coquina clam donax variabilis that live in the shallow waters. Some of the walls to Castillo de San Marcos are 19 feet thick. The first phase of construction was completed in 1695 and shortly after that, the walls were tested. In 1702, Governor James Moore of Charleston led his English forces into the town. However, the coquina is so strong it absorbed  the hit of cannon balls. This goes to show just how impressive the fort is. The coquina is a key part of this battle.  Florida was gained by treaty in 1763, but if the British had won the battle with Spain our history could be a lot different.

Photo Credit: @castillonps

The fort is opening back up to visitors on October 21, 2020. They’ll be open 9am-5pm, Wednesday through Sunday. They have a maximum capacity of 100 visitors in the fort at a time.Do you plan on visiting  Castillo de San Marcos in the future? On their website you can see daily updates.  They offer an app and a virtual tour so you can still experience it from home. It is interactive and you can familiarize yourself with the fort before visiting. The National Park Service  app and website are great tools to learn without physically being there. Castillo de San Marcos has plenty of history worth learning.

Learn more: https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm