Trail of Highways™; Cannons Being Fired at Fort Castillo de San Marcos

Trails of Highways™
Cannon Being Fired at Fort Castillo de San Marcos
St. Augustine, Florida

The cannons are fired every Saturday from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.
The fort also host several other historic demonstrations..

Fort Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States (Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico is older). Located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, the fort was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza. Construction began in 1672,] 107 years after the city’s founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. The fort’s construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after the destructive raid of the English privateer Robert Searles. Work proceeded under the administration of Guerra’s successor, Manuel de Cendoya in 1671,[ although the first stone was not laid until 1672.

The Castillo de San Marcos is built with the unique limestone, “coquina”. Made of many tiny shell fragments and sand lightly bound together with calcite, it has survived cannon balls and hurricanes but is very fragile to human contact. Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida.
Relax and Ponder as you take in the view of the city from the gundeck. The Fort’s green offers a large recreation area perfect for a picnic or a shady nap.