St. Augustine, Florida - Part Six

Continuing our look at historic St. Augustine, Florida, this is the drawbridge and entrance to the historic Castillo de San Marcos.

Construction on the old fort began in 1672 and took decades to complete. It is the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States. Although it was subjected to sieges of almost 30 and more than 50 days, the Castillo was never taken in battle.

Part of the reason was the unique coquina stone from which it was built. This stone is found in only three places in the world, one of which is the St. Augustine area. When the British bombarded the fort, they were dismayed to find that their cannonballs sank into the soft stone instead of breaking and battering it to bits.

The fort is now a national monument and is located on the waterfront in historic downtown St. Augustine. I'll have more on the Castillo in the next post. Until then, you can read more by visiting http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ and looking for the St. Augustine heading.