Frank Suddeth sits at the information desk just inside the drawbridge of the Castillo de San Marcos. He draws Clyde the turtle bookmarks for kids who stop by his desk, and he keeps up a steady banter as he draws. "When I was a kid, my brothers and I played hide and seek in this fort, and we searched for arrowheads and bullets. When I taught school, I worked at this fort every summer and every school vacation. I have 17 costumes I wore. Sometimes, when I was teaching history, I'd wear them to class."

Frank Suddeth's close association with the fort is typical of the residents of St. Augustine. Sitting strong and huge, overlooking the city and the bay, the fort is part of their every day lives. It is a frequent scene of historical reenactments, the location of city events and cannon firing demonstrations. The fort is one of St. Augustine's most popular tourtist destinations and is visited by thousands every year.

The fort is the oldest in the US

Castillo de San Marcos, in the historic district of St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest masonry fort and the best-preserved example of Spanish fortification in the US. Ground was broken for the fort in 1672, but it was not completed as it is known today until 1756. The design followed plans by Vauban, a French military engineer. It is a quadrangular, four-bastioned structure with a moat that used to ebb and flow with the tide. The moat is dry now. The outer walls are 12 feet thick at the base, tapering to 7 feet at the top. They are built of coquina blocks quarried on nearby Anastasia Island and ferried to the site.

The fort protected St. Augustine from pirate raids and from the Spanish foe, the British. The British unsucessfully besieged the fort for 50 days in 1702. The English burned the city of St. Augustine before they left, but the fort stood strong. The British bombarded it again in 1740 for 27 days, and again it withstood the attack.

It was given different names during its long history. After Florida was turned over to Great Britain in 1763, it was called Fort St. Mark. In 1825, it was named Ft. Marion, and in 1924 was declared a national monument. It was later turned over to the National Park Service, and the original Spanish name Castillo de San Marcos was restored.

The fort was a prison for American Indians

If the cannon ball scarred walls could speak, what a story they'd tell. St. Augustine and the fort are filled with the ghosts of history. The fort was a prison for Seminole Indians beginning in 1837, nine Seminole leaders, 81 warriors, and women and children. Seminole leaders, Osceola and Coa Hadjo, were taken prisoner under a truce flag. Osceola was later transferred to Fort Moultrie near Charleston after a group of the Seminoles escaped through a narrow window fifteen feet above the floor. He died at Ft. Moultrie.

Between April and November in 1886, 500 Apaches were imprisoned in the fort that could only house about 150. They later were given the freedom to walk about St. Augustine and visit the beaches. Many sat for portraits at a studio on St. George Street (now the main street of St. Augustine's historic section).

In the late 1800's groups of Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Caddo, Kiowa, Comanches, were also imprisoned for three years at the fort. They too were given the freedom of the town where they sold crafts and sea beans they had polished.

Visit the National Park Service Castillo de San Marcos Website for more history, photos, and details about the fort.