Castillo de San Marcos National Monument encompasses approximately 20.48 acres in historic St. Augustine, Florida, just north of the town’s central plaza. The site is bordered on the east by Matanzas Bay and on the west by State Highway A1A. The National Monument contains the oldest remaining fortification in the United States. Built more than 100 years after the founding of St. Augustine by the Spanish in 1565, its bastioned design represents the conventions of military architecture and technology of its day.

The Castillo de San Marcos served primarily as an outpost of the Spanish Empire, guarding St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, and also protecting the sea route for treasure ships returning to Spain. Although the Castillo has served a number of nations throughout its history, it has never been taken by military force. During the 18th century, the Castillo went from Spanish control to British and back to the Spanish, all by treaty. The Spanish remained in power in Florida until the United States purchased the area in 1821. Called Fort Marion at this time, the Castillo was used by the U.S. Army until 1900. The Castillo was made a National Monument in 1924 and became part of the National Park system in 1933. In 1942, Congress restored the original name.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is to preserve and protect the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and its related cultural resources, and to foster public understanding of their historical, military, and architectural significance.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument is significant because:

The fort is the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and is a remarkably well-preserved specimen of Spanish military architecture and engineering.

It is a massive and tangible representation of the military struggle that occurred in Florida between the European powers, particularly Spain and England, for control of North America.

It was the principal fortification in the region from 1672 to 1900, having been occupied by the armies of Spain, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America, and the United States.

It was the site, during the Second Seminole Wars in 1837, of the imprisonment of many Seminole leaders, including Chief Osceola, twenty of whom made a daring escape, and it was used again to imprison members of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, Caddo, and Arapaho tribes in 1876 and approximately 500 Apaches in 1886 as western migration of settlers resulted in conflicts over land and resources and the ultimate removal by the United States Army of the native peoples from their homelands.

The incarceration of western tribes in St. Augustine resulted in the first use of the Castillo as a tourist attraction as curious and intrigued townspeople and visitors began to purchase craft items from the Indians who were allowed to walk around the town during daylight hours.

It was also here at Ft. Marion in 1876 that Lt. Richard H. Pratt, who later founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, developed his training and assimilation programs.