Fort San Fransisco De Pupo
Posted by: 
IceCreamMan
N 29° 58.687 W 081° 37.752
17R E 439301 N 3316527
Just West of the St. Johns River
Waymark Code: WM2QTV
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 12/09/2007
Views: 70
Pupo is first mentioned in 1716 as the place where the trail from the Franciscan Indian missions and the Apalachee (present-day Tallahassee)to St. Augustine crossed the river. The Spanish Government built the fort on the St. Johns River some time before 1737. Pupo teamed with Fort Picolata on the Eastern shore. These forest protected the river crossing and blocked ships from continuing up stream. In 1738 after an attack by the British-allied Yuchi Indians, the fort was enlarged to a 30-by-16 blockhouse, surrounded by a rampart of timber and earth. During General James Oglethorpe's 1739-40 advance on St. Augustine, Lt George Dunbar unsuccessfully attacked Pupo on the night of December 28th. On January 7th and 8th, Oglethorpe himself to two days to capture the Spanish blockhouses. Oglethorpe reinforced the the fort within a trench, which is still visible. Upon the British retreat from Florida, Fort San Francisco de Pupo was destroyed. Though the Fort was never rebuilt, the site remained a strategically important ferry crossing. In the 1820's Florida's first Federally built road, the Bellamy Road, used the river crossing on the route between St. Augustine and Pensacola.
Marker Number: F-480
Date: 2003
County: Clay
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: Clay County Historical Commision
Website: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new, and if you took any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark.
Please post a photo at the marker location.