HISTORY UNVEILED:
Fort Mose May Be St. Augustine’ s Best-Kept Historic Secret
by Seraine Page
It’ s safe to say St. Augustine has quite a storied past. While the area may be best known as America’ s oldest city, just as fascinating are some of the lesser-known historic sites— like Fort Mose.
The site— just two miles north of St. Augustine— is where the first legally sanctioned free African settlement was established by the Spanish governor, Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, as a haven for escaped slaves.“ St. Augustine is known for its rich history and amazing historical sites, but Fort Mose stands alone due to the nature of its story and the people who traveled and lived there,” says Julia Gill Woodward, chief executive officer of Florida State Parks Foundation.“ It’ s amazing to think that, more than a century before the American Civil War, an“ underground railroad” originally traveled south to St. Augustine. We believe Fort Mose is America’ s first site of freedom, and it’ s right there in St. Augustine, just a short distance from the Castillo de San Marcos.”
Over 250 years ago, enslaved Africans escaped the Carolinas and other nearby states because they heard about Fort Mose and the freedoms that came with it. Once arrived, the slaves were
Julia Gill Woodward
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