Fort Mose

Fort Mose (originally known as Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose [Royal Grace of Saint Teresa of Mose], and later as Fort Mose, or alternatively Fort Moosa or Fort Mossa) 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. The original fort was briefly abandoned after the Battle of Bloody Mose in 1740, but was rebuilt at a nearby location and again occupied by free Africans from 1752 to 1763. 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 and a historically accurate replica of the original 1738 fort, is located on the edge of a salt marsh on the western side of the waterway separating the mainland from the coastal barrier islands. While the location of the 1738 fort has never been identified, the site of the second fort (1752-1763) was discovered in a 1986 archeological dig. The 24-acre (9.7 ha) area around and including this archaeological 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". 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. The replica fort was completed and opened to the public in May 2025. Fort Mose has become a venue for outdoor concerts. Another blues concert was held in February 2023.