Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine Florida
The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It was built by Spain in 1672 and finished in 1699. It was built after the previous 9 wooden forts had been burnt down since St. Augustine’s establishment in 1565. It is now a National Monument managed by the National Park Service.
It was our first fort as part of our current American History school work and it was a hit! Even though the wind was blowing and the temps were quite cold, we stayed a good 2 hours wandering through every room, watching the videos, reading the signs and completing our Junior Ranger Badge.
Hunter was quite enthralled with all of the people in period costume and has added this to his very long list of possible jobs for when he grows up.
The highlight of this stop was the live cannon firing. We learned all about the steps that are taken, the drills that the soldiers do and then got to watch them fire the cannon. It was all very formal and hard to envision in the heat of battle
Another great National Parks Junior Ranger program completed and another badge earned with pride.
