The Castillo de San Marcosis the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States (Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico is older). Located on the western shore ofMatanzas Bay in the city ofSt. Augustine, Florida, the fort was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza. Construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city's founding bySpanish Admiral andconquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, when Florida was part of theSpanish Empire.
Castillo de San Marcos was twice besieged: first by English colonial forces led by Carolina Colony Governor James Moore in 1702, and then by Georgia colonial Governor James Oglethorpe in 1740. Possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, amongst four different governments: the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Confederate States of America and the United States of America (Spain and the United States having possession two times each).
Under United States control the fort was used as a military prison to incarcerate members ofNative American tribes starting with the Seminole—including the famous war chief, Osceola, in the Second Seminole War—and members of western tribes, including Geronimo's band ofChiricahua Apache. The Native American art form known as Ledger Art had its origins at the fort during the imprisonment of members of the Plains tribes such as Howling Wolf of the southern Cheyenne. Source: Wikipedia
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| Apache prisoners at Ft. Marion |
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| Aerial view photo taken from northwest. Although the fort had a water-filled moat at the time, it was originally a dry moat. |
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