Fort Matanzas (St. Johns County, Florida)
St. Johns County · Florida · Spanish Colonial Period
History & Significance
After Castillo de San Marcos was completed in 1695, the town had only one weakness: Matanzas Inlet, 14 miles south, allowed access to the Matanzas River by which enemy vessels could attack the town from the rear out of range of the Castillo's cannon. Under Governor Manuel de Montiano's orders, construction of the fort began in 1740 and was completed in 1742.
Engineer Pedro Ruiz de Olano, who had worked on additions to the Castillo de San Marcos, designed the fortified observation tower. Convicts, slaves, and troops from Cuba were used as labor to erect the structure, which was sited on present-day Rattlesnake Island.
The fort, known to the Spanish as Torre de Matanzas, is a masonry structure made of coquina, a common shellstone building material. The marshy terrain was stabilized by a foundation of pine pilings to accommodate a building 50 feet long on each side with a 30-foot high tower.
Five cannon were placed at the fort—four six-pounders and one eighteen-pounder. All guns could reach the inlet, which at the time was less than half a mile away.
All soldiers at Fort Matanzas served on rotation from their regular duty in St. Augustine. Spain lost control of Florida with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, and regained control with the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
With the Spanish Empire falling apart, Spain spent little effort maintaining the fort after this time. When the United States took control of Florida in 1821, the fort had deteriorated to the point where soldiers could not live inside.
The United States never used the fort and it became a ruin. In 1916, after recognizing the fort's historic significance, the Federal Government began to restore the site.
By 1924, three vertical fissures in the wall were repaired and the structure was stabilized; in the same year, National Monument status was proclaimed. Fort Matanzas was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Spanish coquina masonry fortress with 30-foot tower built 1742
- Guarded southern inlet approach to colonial St. Augustine
- Accessible via scenic boat ride across Matanzas Inlet
- National Park Service monument with interpretive exhibits on colonial defense
- Waterfront setting overlooking strategic maritime approach
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/foma/index.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Matanzas_National_Monument
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/ftmatanzas.htm
- https://npshistory.com/publications/foma/index.htm
- https://npshistory.com/publications/foundation-documents/foma-fd-overview.pdf