This was built in 1742 by the Spanish to protect the southern entrance to Castillo de San Marcos on the Matanzas river. The soldiers, one officer and 6 men, that manned this fort were from the Castillo and were regularly rotated. The fort is actually on an island, access is by boat. Supposedly Manatzas means slaughter in Spanish, or something close to that.
Like the Castillo, this site is also managed by the National Park service. But there is no cost to tour this site. This includes a the boat ride to the fort, and the guided tour presented by the park service. I got there a little early for the next boat, one of the rangers was giving a presentation on the eco system of the area both plants and animals, so much information, just amazing it was ‘Free’.
