Browse Museums

Fort Mose Historic State Park

Saint Augustine, Florida

Archaeology, Culture, History, Historical Society, Military, Park

Fort Mose is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African American community. In 1693 King Charles II of Spain issued a royal proclamation offering freedom to all male and female slaves in exchange for their conversion to the Catholic religion and service to the Crown. By 1738 more than 100 African fugitives had made their way to Saint Augustine, the Fort and the community of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose were established by the Spanish government to provide protection to the Northern side of the Castillo de San Marcos.

Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

Saint Augustine, Florida

Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Park, Planetarium, Science

The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is a 15 acre waterfront, Historical Site where St. Augustine, Florida began in 1565. Here, on September 8, 1565, Spanish Explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles established the oldest continuous European Settlement in the U.S., and held the first recorded Thanksgiving Feast between Europeans and Native Americans - 55 years before the Pilgrims. The site is 42 years older than Jamestown, and is open 364 days a year.