Discover one of America's most important yet often overlooked historic sites at Fort Mose Historic State Park, the location of the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in what would become the United States. Established in 1738, this fortified town named Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose represented hope, freedom, and sanctuary for courageous Africans who risked everything to escape enslavement in British colonies. Just two miles north of downtown St. Augustine, Fort Mose tells a powerful story of resilience, bravery, and the complex history of freedom in colonial America. More than 300 years ago, enslaved Africans began a dangerous journey southward from British plantations in the Carolinas and Georgia. They walked through swamps and dense forests, sought help from Native peoples, and created what historians now recognize as the first Underground Railroad. The Spanish government of Florida offered an extraordinary deal: freedom in exchange for conversion to Catholicism and, for men, a term of military service defending St. Augustine. The first freedom seekers arrived in 1687, including eight men, two women, and a nursing three-year-old child. By 1738, more than 100 formerly enslaved people had achieved asylum and established their community at Fort Mose. The reconstructed fort, completed in May 2025, sits on the original site where the earthwork fortification once stood. This impressive recreation helps visitors visualize the defensive structure that served