Besides Castillo de San Marcos, several other National Park System sites
in Florida preserve and interpret aspects of Spanish colonial history.
They are located on the map and described below.
[Illustration: Map]
Gulf Islands NS
De Soto N MEM
Fort Carolina N MEM
Castillo de San Marcos NM
Ft. Matanzas NM
De Soto National Memorial
_P.O. Box 16390_
_Bradenton, FL 34280-5390._
No one knows exactly where Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto landed on
Florida’s west coast in 1539. This park at the entrance to Tampa Bay
memorializes that landing and de Soto’s subsequent journeys of
exploration throughout the southeastern United States.
Fort Caroline National Memorial
_12713 Fort Caroline Road_
_Jacksonville, FL 32225._
The establishment of a French colony here in 1564 directly challenged
the Spaniards, who responded by establishing Saint Augustine the next
year. After securing a firm base of operations, the Spaniards led by
Pedro Menéndez marched to the French settlement and captured it, ending
French interest in the area.
Fort Matanzas National Monument
_c/o Castillo de San Marcos National Monument_
_1 Castillo Drive_
_Saint Augustine, FL 32084._
On this site Spanish troops killed French soldiers who were part of the
ill-fated attempt to establish a French settlement in Florida. In 1740,
after the failed English attack on Saint Augustine, the Spaniards built
a masonry fortification—Fort Matanzas—on Rattlesnake Island overlooking
Matanzas Inlet to control the inlet permanently.
Gulf Islands National Seashore
_1801 Gulf Breeze Parkway_
_Gulf Breeze, FL 32561._
The ravelin of Fort Barrancas, located on the grounds of the Pensacola
Naval Air Station, is another Spanish masonry fortification in Florida
besides the Castillo and Fort Matanzas. It is called Battery San Antonio
and dates from 1797. It was planned as part of a larger fortification
never built by the Spaniards. Fort Barrancas, built by the U.S., dates
from the early 19th century.
Besides these parks in Florida there is one in Georgia (not shown on the
map) that bears importantly on the story of St. Augustine.
Fort Frederica National Monument
_Route 9, Box 286-C_
_Savannah, GA 31410._
It was at Fort Frederica that James Edward Oglethorpe established a
settlement in 1736 only a few days march north of St. Augustine in
territory that the Spaniards clearly believed to be their own.
[Illustration: Fort Matanzas National Monument]
[Illustration: Fort Caroline National Memorial]
★ GPO: 1993—342-396 80002