Expedition Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: December 7, 2023
Built in 1569 along the Matanzas River on Rattlesnake Island by the Spanish as an unarmed wooden watchtower, thatched hut, and stockade, it was to warn the city of St. Augustine if the British, pirates or other invaders were approaching. In 1740, the watchtower was replaced with a masonry fort (walls made from solid coquina shellstone) with cannons. In 1742 the fort repelled British ships that was approaching. The fort was restored in 1916 to preserve its historic value.
Rosie and I took a ferry boat named the “Trinite” across the river from the national park visitor center on Anastasia Island to the fort watching for dolphins, blue herons, and cormorants along the way. We toured the fort, climbed a steep ladder while squeezing through the small opening to the top observation deck. We toured the soldiers and officer’s quarters, powder magazine room and gun deck. On the deck we could see the Atlantic Ocean and the inlet to the east. St. Augustine was 14 miles upstream. Fort Matanzas is the only fortified Spanish watchtower in the continental United States.
