Free Living History Day at Fort Matanzas

Park Ranger Griselle Fuellner invites local Historic City News readers to join reenactors at Fort Matanzas National Monument to learn about the life of a typical woman in Saint Augustine during Spanish colonial times.

During the special free event, the reenactors, dressed as Spanish colonial women, will be demonstrating how foods from three different cultures were combined to create some of the best dishes available in 1740’s Spanish Florida.

They will explain to visitors the ways that Native American, African, and Spanish cultural influences affected the Spanish colonial kitchen.

Other activities at the park during this special event on Saturday, March 4, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. include a display of a Spanish Soldier’s equipment pack and talks about Fort Matanzas and its inlet.

Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine, and protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment.

Visitors are welcome to walk the park trails and view the fort across the waterway. The park’s Visitor Center regularly shows a short video of the fort and its historical importance. Due to hurricane damage our ferry is out of service although visitors can still enjoy the nature board walk trail and the inlet shoreline.

Fort Matanzas is located 14 miles south of St. Augustine on Anastasia Island and four miles south of Route 206 on Highway A1A. The address is 8635 A1A South, St. Augustine, FL 32080.