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Fort Mose Historic State Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Site of the old fort
Location	St. Augustine, Florida
Area	24 acres (9.7 ha)
NRHP reference No.	94001645
Added to NRHP	October 12, 1994
Designated NHL	October 12, 1994

Fort Mose, also known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, was a Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1738, the governor of Spanish Florida, Manuel de Montiano, created this fort as a settlement for free Black people. It was the first place in what would become the United States where free Black people were officially allowed to live. Fort Mose was recognized as a US National Historic Landmark on October 12, 1994.

Today, Fort Mose Historic State Park has a visitors' center and a small museum. It sits next to a salt marsh, across from the coastal islands. The original spot of the 18th-century fort was found during an archaeological dig in 1986. This 24-acre (9.7 ha) area is now a Florida state park. Fort Mose is considered the most important site on the "Florida Black Heritage Trail."

In 2022, the Florida State Parks Foundation received money to rebuild the fort for historical purposes. More funds were raised from a jazz concert. Fort Mose also hosts outdoor concerts, like a blues concert held in February 2023.

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Fort Mose: A Place of Freedom

Seeking Freedom in Spanish Florida

As early as 1689, the Spanish rulers in Florida offered safety to enslaved people who escaped from the English colonies, like Virginia. Many sought refuge in St. Augustine. The Spanish had already established a mission there with the help of Afro-Spanish settlers in the late 1500s.

In 1693, King Charles II of Spain made a special rule. He said that enslaved people who escaped to Florida would be free if they became Catholic. They also had to serve in the local army for four years. By 1742, this community had grown into a maroon settlement. The Spanish used this settlement as a first defense against attacks on Florida.

Building Fort Mose

Historical marker for Santa Teresa de Mose (Fort Mose)

Back of the Fort Mose historical marker

Map of St. Augustine and Fort Mose during a British attack in 1740

Part of a map showing Fort Mose and Castillo de San Marcos in 1740

In 1738, Governor Montiano ordered the building of a military fort called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose. It was about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of St. Augustine. Any enslaved person who escaped and was found by the Spanish was sent there. If they became Catholic and served in the army, the Spanish treated them as free people.

The military leader at Fort Mose was Francisco Menéndez. He was born in Africa, in the Gambia region. He was captured by slave traders and brought to the colony of Carolina. Like many others, he escaped and found safety in Spanish Florida. He became a leader by helping defend St. Augustine from a British attack in 1728. He was the main leader of the free Black community at Mose.

Fort Mose was the first legally approved settlement for free Black people in what would become the United States. About 100 people lived there. The village had a wall, homes, a church, and an earthen fort.

News of Fort Mose reached the British colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. This encouraged more enslaved people to escape. Other Black people and their Native American allies helped them travel south to Florida. The Spanish colony needed skilled workers, and the freedmen made St. Augustine's army stronger. The existence of Fort Mose may have helped inspire the Stono Rebellion in September 1739. This revolt was led by enslaved people, some of whom were from the Kingdom of Kongo. Many of them were already Catholic and spoke Portuguese, which helped them adjust to life in Florida.

As a military outpost, Mose protected the northern entrance to St. Augustine. Most of its people came from different groups in West Africa, like the Kongos, Carabalis, and Mandinka. They had been sold into slavery in the Carolinas. On their journey to freedom, they often met various Native American groups. By defending their freedom and Spanish Florida, the people of Fort Mose played a big role in the conflicts between European powers in the Southeast.

The people of Mose formed alliances with the Spanish and their Native American friends. They fought against their former masters. After some people at the fort were killed by Native Americans allied with the British, Governor Montiano ordered the fort to be left empty. Its people moved to St. Augustine. The British then took over the empty fort.

The Black militia fought alongside Spanish soldiers against British forces led by James Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe attacked St. Augustine in 1740 during the War of Jenkins' Ear. During this fight, Spanish troops, Native American helpers, and the free Black militia fought back. They defeated Oglethorpe's troops and destroyed the fort. Oglethorpe had to retreat to Georgia. The Black Spanish militia also helped in a Spanish counterattack in 1742, which was not successful.

By 1752, the Spanish rebuilt Fort Mose. The new governor made most of the free Black people move back to the fort from St. Augustine.

After East Florida was given to the British in the 1763 Treaty of Paris, most of the free Black people moved to Cuba with the Spanish settlers. At that time, about 3,000 Black people lived in St. Augustine and Fort Mose. About three-quarters of them were formerly enslaved people.

The British fixed up the fort after the Spanish left. The Spanish returned in 1784 and used the fort as a military outpost again. Later, it was occupied by the Florida Patriots, who wanted Florida to join the new United States. An attack by a Spanish and Native American alliance, which again included Black fighters, destroyed the fort for the last time in 1812.

Fort Mose's Lasting Impact

Fort Mose was a safe place for enslaved people, mostly from South Carolina and Georgia. It is seen as the most important site on the Florida Black Heritage Trail. The National Park Service calls it an early example of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom before the American Civil War. They often went North to Canada, or to the Bahamas and Mexico.

Finding and Studying the Site Today

The entrance of Fort Mose Historic State Park.

Artifacts found at Fort Mose, displayed in the Visitors Center

The Fort Mose site was left empty when Spanish Florida was given to the British in 1763. The community moved to Cuba. The British destroyed the empty site in 1812 during the War of 1812. In 1968, Frederick Eugene "Jack" Williams, a local historian, found the site using an old map. He bought the land and worked to have it excavated.

From 1986 to 1988, a team of experts studied Fort Mose. This team included Kathleen A. Deagan from the Florida Museum of Natural History and Jane Landers from Vanderbilt University. Their work found the original fort and the second one built in 1752. Their discoveries showed that Africans played key roles in the conflicts between European powers in the Southeast.

Documents studied by historian Jane Landers show who lived in Mose and what their lives were like. In 1759, the village had 22 huts made of palm leaves. These housed 37 men, 15 women, 7 boys, and 8 girls. The people of Mose grew their own food. The men guarded the fort or patrolled the area for the Spanish. They attended church in a wooden chapel. Most married other refugees, but some married Native American women or enslaved people from St. Augustine.

In the first year of digging, archaeologists found parts of the fort. These included its moat, earthen walls, and wooden buildings. They found many artifacts: military items like gunflints and metal buckles. They also found household items like pipes, thimbles, and pottery. Food remains, like burnt seeds and bones, were also found.

A panorama of the hammocks and salt marsh at the site of Fort Mose.

Fort Mose was located on a small tidal channel called Mose Creek. This gave the settlers access to the rich waters of the Tolomato River. This area had mud flats, oyster bars, and salt marshes, which were great sources of food. Studies of animal remains showed that the people of Mose ate a diet similar to nearby Native American communities. They ate a lot of seafood and wild foods.

From 2019 to 2024, new archaeological digs have been done at the site. These digs are unique because they happened both on land and underwater in the surrounding creeks. They have found many household and military items, as well as food remains from the Black militia who lived there from 1752-1764.

Visiting Fort Mose Today

Today, you can see artifacts in the museum at the park's Visitor Center. Outside, signs explain the history of the site. Three replicas of historical items have been placed in the park: a choza (a cooking hut), a small historical garden, and a small Spanish flat boat called a barca chata.

In January 2024, work began to build a full-size replica of the 1738 fort on the park grounds. Building a replica for visitors has been a goal since the 1990s. This project moved forward in the early 2020s after major donations and grants provided the needed funding. Construction is currently underway.

Fort Mose in Books and Media

The story of Fort Mose is told in a children's book published in 2010 by Kathleen Deagan and Darcie MacMahon. This book includes details like an index and sources, which are not always found in children's books. Historian Jane Landers has also written a detailed history of Spanish Florida, which talks a lot about Mose.