St. Augustine - Oldest Continuously Occupied City In The USA

Our visit to St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied city in the USA, began on a perfect Florida sun shine filled morning.
Temperatures on this third day of the new year were in the 70's and heading in to the 80's.
The drive up Highway A1A through Palm Coast was beautiful with tree lined roads and beautiful houses, condos and retirement communities.
Before we reached St. Augustine we visited a National Monument.
Fort Matanzas was built by the Spanish in the mid 1700's. The Ranger tour guide explained that the French army had tried to capture the fort, but a hurricane destroyed their ships survivors struggled to the shore where they were captured. The Spanish soldiers had then executed over 250 of the prisoners.

The fort was originally built to protect the 1500 residents of St. Augustine.

To reach the Fort which is built on an island, Park Rangers use a tour boat to carry visitors across the bay.
Many cannons are on display in the same positions they were placed in when the Spanish fought off French and than English attempts to capture the fort and the city.

Rangers told visitors to cover their ears as volunteers, dressed in Spanish army uniforms fired one of the cannons.
The cannons were capable of hitting ships up to a mile away.
The visit to the Fort Matanzas National Monument is free and offers visitors a look back in history to the year 1565 when Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles established St. Augustine as the oldest permanent European city in the continental United States.

A peasant beginning for a day filled blue skies, sunshine and history.

Following the short boat ride back to the visitors center we were on our way to the city itself and another National Monument, Castillo San Marcos.
What a place.
 It was built like a castle, including a moat, and was used by the 1500 St. Augustine residents as a shelter from invading forces.

 One of the original cannons at Fort Matanzas.

The fort was also used as a prison for enemy soldiers who were captured in battles with French or English soldiers.
The bars in the windows provide a frame for my picture.

Rangers gave history talks and explained how in 1763 the Peace of Paris talks gave ownership of Florida and the fort to the English in exchange for La Habana.

In 1783, following the USA Independence, the English had to return Florida to the Spanish.
38 years later in 1821 Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
In 1924 Fort Matanzas was named a National Monument. Care of the facility was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service in 1933.

What a great day traveling through some beautiful scenery and visiting these remarkable US historical sites.

Following the visit to Fort Matanzas we took a walking tour of the "Old Town" part of St. Augustine and visited the St. Photios Greek Orthodox History Center.
The history of New Smyrna and the colonists from Greece who were brought to Florida as indentured servants to run the plantations established by English landowners provided still another insight into the history of the state.

Thanks to Diana's diligent research we had a good time and discovered a fascinating bit of Florida history.

 The cannon ad I.








Ilidio, Jared and Diana

I'll be leaving Florida for Houston, Texas in a week.

Watch for me, I'll be in the Right Lane America.

Del "Lonnie" Lonnquist