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Fort Mose

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Fort Mose Historic State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Map
LocationSt. Johns County, Florida, USA
Nearest citySt. Augustine, Florida
EstablishedOctober 12, 1994
Governing bodyFlorida Department of Environmental Protection

Fort Mose Historic State Park (originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose) is a U.S. National Historic Landmark (designated as such on October 12, 1994), located two miles north of St. Augustine, Florida, on the eastern edge of a marsh. It is also a Florida State Park. Also spelled Fort Moosa or Fort Mossa.

History

Fort Mose (pronounced "Moh-say") was the first free black settlement legally sanctioned in what would become the United States. The community began when Florida was a Spanish colony. The Colonial Governor, Manuel Montiano, established the fortified town in 1738, where it became a haven for escaped slaves from the English colonies to the north.

The military leader at the fort was an man of African origin named Francisco Menendez[1]

Sources

  1. ^ Berlin, Ira. Many Thousands Gone. p. 74