Castillo de San Marcos - St. Augustine, FL - Engineering Landmarks on Waymarking.com

Since its founding in 1565, St. Augustine has had a fortification to ensure Spanish sovereignty over Florida. For 100 years, nine successive wooden forts did the job adequately. But when the English attacked St. Augustine in 1668, a stone fort became necessary. The Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1672-95 and is the symbol of the 235 year presence of Spain in the southeastern United States.

The Castillo is the oldest masonry fortification within the United States. It is constructed of coquina, a kind of stone made of limestone and small shells that have cemented together over time, and is only found in this area of the country. Since nobody had every built a fort out of coquina, they had no idea how strong it would be. They decided to build the walls of the fort 12 feet thick, with the walls facing the harbor 19 feet thick.

Seven years after the fort was finished, the British attacked St. Augustine. After capturing the city, they attacked the fortress by shooting cannons at the thick walls. Instead of shattering, the coquina walls absorbed the impact and the cannon balls bounced off. The coquina stone walls held up for 27 days and the Spanish held off the attacks of the British. Many buildings in and around St. Augustine were then built using this same stone and still stand to this day.

Location: 1 South Castillo Dr St. Augustine, FL 32084 Type of structure/site: Fort Date of Construction: 1672-1695 Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Unknown Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Civil Engineers Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]

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