Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
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Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, often simply called the Castillo, is a U.S. National Monument located in St. Augustine, Florida. The Spanish fortress Castillo de San Marcos was built from 1672 to 1695 to protect St. Augustine, the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, after a series of pirate raids attacked the town. Over the last 400 years, the fort was under the control of varying powers, including Spain, Great Britain, the United States, and the short-lived Confederacy. It was first designated a National Monument in 1924 and was called Fort Marion at the time.
The Castillo is constructed from blocks of local coquina limestone, and enemy cannonballs are said to have sunk harmlessly into the soft material.
The walls of the Castillo de San Marcos are thirty feet high and twelve feet thick.
External link
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/casa/)