ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Eighth stop:
St. Augustine, Fl.,
The "Old City Gate" at our first permanent settlement

By Miguel Pérez

​​Many people need the image of Castillo de San Marcos to identify St. Augustine. But would they know the nation's oldest city by looking at its official entrance?

This is known as the "Old City Gate," and still serves as the main entrance to the city's historic district. But there was a time when all of St. Augustine was surrounded by a wall.

“Open for trade during the day, but locked up at night, this city gate is the entrance to early 1800s civilization,” according to a National Parks Service marker. “Here in St. Augustine, Spaniards on the frontier feel safe."
The marker is an illustration of farmers approaching the gate, bringing crops and food from their fields surrounding the town. 

“The Spanish build this gate when they reconstructed the city’s northern wall (the Cubo Line) in 1808, more than 100 years after the Castillo was completed,” the marker explains. “Having wrestled possession back from the British, the Spanish fortified the town to keep the Americans out. The gate was a critical part of improvements to the city’s fortified defense.”

Of course, the Castillo is only a five-minute walk away. So why don't we make that our next stop?

En español:
Octava parada: San Agustín, Florida, La "Puerta de la Ciudad Vieja" en nuestro primer pueblo permanente