Florida State Parks Foundation
SUPPORTS THE FORT
by Aaron London
The dream to reconstruct the original structure at Fort Mose requires a little blood, sweat, toil and tears – and a lot of money. Leading the way in the fundraising effort for the project is the Florida State Parks Foundation.
The Fort Mose Historical Society set a goal to reconstruct the fort in the mid-1990s, but the program really took off in 2022 with a nearly $ 1 million grant from the Florida African American Cultural and Historical Grants Program. And that happened with the help of the Foundation.
“ We met the Fort Mose Historical Society at a 2019 statewide conference,” said Julia Gill Woodward, Florida State Parks Foundation CEO,“ where we first heard about their dream of having the original 1738 fort reconstructed.”
Woodward said the Foundation saw the commitment Historical Society members brought to the project and decided to lend a fundraising hand.
“ We were so inspired by their determination, passion and commitment we started partnering up with them to find grant applications applicable to the project,” she said.“ In the fall of 2021 we found what we felt was the perfect match grant in African American cultural heritage grants.”
Woodward said the Foundation applied for the competitive grant in coordination with Fort Mose Historic State Park and the Fort Mose Historical Society.
“ For part of the grant we had to raise matching funds,” she said.
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