HISTORY & HERITAGE
Fort Matanzas National Monument
St. Johns County · Atlantic Coast
A small coquina watchtower of 1742 on Rattlesnake Island, reached by a free ferry, guarding the back door to St. Augustine.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Matanzas means slaughters in Spanish, and the inlet got the name in 1565 when Spanish forces under Menendez executed Jean Ribault and his shipwrecked French Huguenots there. Spain built this tower in 1742 to stop anyone using the inlet as a back way to St. Augustine, after Oglethorpe's forces had shown the weakness. It is coquina like the Castillo, but tiny by comparison: the usual garrison was one officer, four infantrymen and two gunners, with room for more if a threat came. The monument covers 227.76 acres and was designated on October 15, 1924, with a National Register listing following in 1966. Getting to the fort means a free boat ride of about five minutes from the visitor center on Anastasia Island across to Rattlesnake Island, and the ferry is the reason many people come. A boardwalk runs through the maritime hammock on the mainland side and a beach lies at the inlet
Keep comparing