Fort Mose Historic State Park

Pulling down an unfamiliar road in St. Augustine, I catch my first glimpse of the sign for Fort Mose Historic State Park, the remains of the first free African-American settlement in the U.S. I immediately fixate on the exquisite tile bordering the signage and Visitor Center. The yellow and orange shapes on the brown tiles represent the full circadian rhythms, geographical directions, and individual subpoints. This design speaks to the timelessness and chronotopic nature of this precious space.

Visitor Center

Within the Visitor Center is a room dedicated to artifact demonstrations, detailed maps and construction drawings, and a 15-minute video that comprehensively details the history of this preservation site. After viewing the film and learning more about the history of the African-American settlement, we meander into the exhibit space, where we play with interactive exhibits that depict the culture of the settlement. A knowledgeable older gentleman helps us navigate around the museum. My favorite exhibit is a language lesson on the Timucua Indian language, a form developed to assist in translation between the Native Americans and early European settlers.

Views of Robinson Creek

Continuing our exploration, we peek at the nearby fishing pier and walk around a vast, green field with tall oak trees. The warm sun and gentle breeze seeps into our skin from above the tree branches. Gazing up at the bright blue sky and looking around at the luscious green foliage leads our eyes to Robinson Creek. On this gorgeous afternoon, my soul is full of gratitude for a small bit of our past archaeologically uncovered and for the solid squeeze of my state park partner’s guiding hand. We were truly alone with nature and history at Fort Mose, transcending time and space combined.

Explore more of the history at Fort Mose: