Fort Matanzas National Monument is located on the eastern coast of Florida, approximately a 30-minute drive south from Saint Augustine. It is a small coquina fort built at the mouth of an inlet to the Florida intercoastal waterway. Fort Matanzas was proclaimed a national monument on October 15, 1924 and was put under the control of the National Park Service in 1933. Built by the Spanish, construction lasted from 1740 until 1742, as a way to protect the “back door” to the settlement of Saint Augustine from invasion. The area around the fort has a very interesting story, which is the result of the struggle between European nations to claim and control the New World.
The story of this particular area can begin in 1565, when a French Huguenot named Jean Ribault lead his troops (which outnumbered the Spanish in the area)south to attack up the river into Saint Augustine. However, nature was not kind to this expedition, and the fleet got caught in a hurricane that hit the northeastern coast of La Florida. This scattered the ships of the fleet and kept the men at sea for some time. Meanwhile the Spanish, led by Pedro Menendez, traveled by foot north from Saint Augustine to capture the French settlement named Fort Caroline on the St. Johns River. Once the hurricane had passed, the remaining French troops surrendered and were marched to the area at the mouth of the inlet. Here Menendez ordered the 245 prisoners to be out to death on the beach, mostly due to the fact that they were not Catholic. This area, which is 14 miles south of Saint Augustine, became known as Matanzas which means “the place of many slaughters.”
Soon after these events, a wooden tower was erected in this location and on June 13, 1740 the English began a siege at the inlet. The blockade was led by General James Oglethorpe, who founded the colony of Georgia on land that had been claimed by Spain. Due to the quickly approaching hurricane season, as well as the lack of support by the navy and Saint Augustine’s well-prepared defenses, Oglethorpe ended the siege and withdrew from the area after a very short amount of time. The Spanish Governor realized that there was a need for stronger fortifications at Matanzas, and soon ordered a new fort to be built.
Fort Matanzas was built using coquina, which is a fragile shell-stone.
The fort’s strategic location and five mounted canons covered all approaching locations to the area. Built to help Saint Augustine hold off long sieges, once completed the fort never saw any further aggressive action. As a result of a treaty in 1763, the English took control of Florida (and the fort) and left it to time. When Florida was ceded to the United States in 1821 the fort was in ruins and crumbling structure. Today the fort now stands as it did when it was first built, as the result of much stabilization and restoration. It is waiting on the beautiful Florida coast for you to visit.
Kristina and I drove up the Florida coastline on our route to Fort Matanzas National Monument. We choose this route to take us on a scenic drive up the beach, and because someone decided it was a good idea to do construction on Interstate 95 during the middle of the time known in Florida as “Tourist Season”. Going into the trip neither of us had much knowledge about Fort Matanzas, or what to expect on this journey. In all actuality, the only reason we knew anything about it even being there was thanks to the NPS maps that came with our National Parks Passport. We arrived early in the morning to the monument and pulled into a small wooded parking lot with picnic tables. Our first stop was going to be the visitor center, so we put on our gear and sunscreen before heading in. Walking in we were greeted by one of the nicest park rangers who explained to us the ferry system and the grounds. Fortunately, luck was on our side and there were just two spots left on the next ferry, we took them (The ferry is free, but does have a limited number of “first come, first serve” seating).
We took a look around, and canceled our passports, before sitting down to a short video about the history of the fort. I was unaware of how connected the Spanish, French, and English settlements were in this area of the country. Once the video was over we began to line up for the ferry, and our adventure to continue. A small outdoor boat, with a sunshade, took us across to the island in the middle of the river. Once docked, the Park Ranger took us to the fort so we could explore. Seeing the tight quarters was surprising for Kristina, and I could not imagine wearing the Spanish’s wool uniforms in the summer heat.
We didn’t stay long at the fort until it was time for us to board the ferry back to the visitor center. We did, however, have one more part to the journey here. There is a small nature walk, consisting mostly of boardwalks located next to the parking lot. Kristina and I filled up our water bottles and the refill station and started in. The nature trail is short but very interesting, filled with many species of plants and animals. Kristina was less than happy about the several large spiders we saw this day. Located at the far end of the trail’s loop is a small stone monument pointing out the location that the French sailors were massacred, providing a somber moment as you walk by. We very much enjoyed out walk, but when it ended it was time for us to end another journey. Our next stop will be the Castillo de San Marcus National Monument in Saint Augustine. The history of this next stop is very much intertwined with Fort Matanzas and the history of Florida’s northeast coast.
We also saw a turtle nest!
*A Note about Refill Stations
One of the great things that the National Park Service has done to improve the experience at many of their locations is to add water bottle refill stations. These are water fountains that also have a spot to place a bottle under while filling it. They are filtered and even have a display showing you that it is providing you with clean water. I strongly recommend you take advantage of these when you can as they give you the opportunity to stay hydrated while keeping the waste from plastic bottles down. One of the problems that the NPS is attempting to solve is the large amount of trash that is produced inside of our protected lands. Please do your part and use water bottles that can be used again and again. I will thank you for this, and I am sure that the NPS and wildlife will too.
For More Information
Please visit the Visitor Center at Fort Matanzas National Monument, or online at www.nps.gov/foma.
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