Located at the confluence of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers, Native Americans used the site of Fort San Marcos de Apalache for thousands of years. The park museum displays pottery and tools unearthed near the original fort.

Beginning in 1678, the Spanish built two wooden forts at the confluence of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers. In 1739, they began the construction of the permanent stone fort of San Marcos de Apalache.

After General Andrew Jackson captured the Spanish strong point in 1818 and Spain subsequently ceded Florida to the

United States in 1821, American troops intermittently occupied the fort, which they called Fort St. Marks.

In 1857-1858, a federal marine hospital was constructed for the care of yellow fever victims. By the time of the Civil War, the fort

had been abandoned. Confederate forces occupied the site in 1861, strengthened it with earthworks and artillery batteries, and

renamed it Fort Ward.

The fort provided protection for both the small blockade running port of St. Marks and the town of Newport, which contained

a foundry and several mills. A small Confederate steamer equipped with two cannons, the CSS Spray, assisted in the area's defense.

Throughout the Civil War, the region was an active area for blockade running and salt production, and the Union navy

had blockaded St. Marks since 1861. In July 1863, a Union navy expedition in small boats had attempted to move up

the St. Marks River to capture Fort Ward and the CSS Spray, but withdrew when spotted by Confederate pickets.

In March 1865, a much larger Union expedition with a major objective of capturing St. Marks and Fort Ward met with defeat at the Battle of Natural Bridge.

Fort Ward remained in Confederate control until the end of the war when in May 1865 both the fort and the CSS Spray surrendered to a Union officer.

The property was acquired by the State of Florida in 1964 for use as a park facility. A visitor center and museum, constructed

on the foundation of the 1850s marine hospital, provides interpretation with exhibits and artifacts. An interpretive trail includes the Confederate earthworks and the highest point on the site, the Confederate powder magazine.

www.floridastateparks.org/sanmarcos

Information Provided by the Florida Department

of Historical Resources