Fort Mose (Moh-Say) Historic State Park

The location of Fort Mose Historic State Park is in St. Augustine. My brother, Michael, and I went on March 23rd of 2023. We arrived at the park at Noon and left at 1pm. We spent an hour walking around the park. My brother and I walked down the Walkway to Freedom, and we enjoyed the swamp water full of tadpoles. My brother couldn’t believe that the wetlands we were seeing were not there when the fort was active, it was farming ground. As we were walking around we read every sign that was up talking about the history of Fort Mose. I can and can't imagine what it was like when it was an active fort. Seeing some of the photos of what it was like back then is amazing and brings it to life, but it's hard to imagine a life you never experienced. This fort was mentioned in chapter 10 of our reading. "The invaders took the town and port of Fernandina on Amelia Island, and by mid-April they were encamped at the site of Fort Mose, two miles north of St. Augustine, when President Madison withdrew official support for the venture in the face of public disapproval.”(1). Fort Mose was the first legally sanctioned free black town. The residents also created a new cultural community. Fort Mose is recognized in history as the first black settlement in America. The fort no longer stands but I'm glad its history still stands.

Here are the photos from our trip.

Resource: (1) Gannon, M. (Ed.). (2018). The History of Florida (Ch, 10, p. 174). The University Press of Florida.