Fort Mose

Fort Mose Historic State Park
Site of the old fort
LocationSt. Augustine, Florida
Coordinates29°55′40″N 81°19′31″W / 29.92778°N 81.32528°W / 29.92778; -81.32528
Area24 acres (9.7 ha)
NRHP reference No.94001645[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 12, 1994[1]
Designated NHLOctober 12, 1994[2]

Fort Mose (originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose[3] [Royal Grace of Saint Teresa of Mose],[4] and later as Fort Mose,[2] or alternatively Fort Moosa or Fort Mossa[5]) is a former Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1738, the governor of Spanish Florida, Manuel de Montiano, had the fort established as a free black settlement, the first to be legally sanctioned in what would become the territory of the United States.[6] It was designated a US National Historic Landmark on October 12, 1994.

Fort Mose Historic State Park, which now includes a visitors' center and small museum, is located on the edge of a salt marsh on the western side of the waterway separating the mainland from the coastal barrier islands. The original site of the 18th-century fort was uncovered in a 1986 archeological dig. The 24-acre (9.7 ha) site is now protected as a Florida state park, administered through the Anastasia State Recreation Area. Fort Mose is the "premier site on the Florida Black Heritage Trail".[7]

In 2022, the Florida State Parks Foundation was awarded a grant from the Florida African American Cultural and Historical Grants Program to reconstruct the fort for historic purposes. Additional funds were raised from a jazz concert held shortly before the announcement.[8]

Fort Mose has become a venue for outdoor concerts. Another blues concert was held in February 2023.

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#94001645)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Fort Mose Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2008-06-20. Archived from the original on 2009-01-21.
  3. ^ Kathleen A. Deagan (2014). "Fort Mose: America's first Free Black Community". In Ann L.; Henderson Gary R. Mormino; Carlos J. Cano (eds.). Spanish Pathways in Florida, 1492-1992: Caminos Españoles en La Florida, 1492-1992. Pineapple Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-56164-744-6.
  4. ^ Fastiggi, Robert L. (2010). New Catholic Encyclopedia Supplement 2009. Gale/Cengage Learning. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-4144-7527-1.
  5. ^ Hurston, Zora Neal; Logan, Rayford Whittingham (1927). Woodson, Carter Godwin (ed.). "Communications". The Journal of Negro History. 12 (1). Association for the Study of Negro Life and History: 664.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference precursor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Darcie MacMahon; Kathleen Deagan (September–October 1996). "Legacy of Fort Mose - Archaeology Magazine Archive". Archaeology. 49 (5). Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  8. ^ "St. Augustine's Fort Mose gains more exposure, over $1.23M boost from grants, jazz series". St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 2022-05-22.