Coquina rocks-Washington Oaks State Park,a few miles south of St. Augustine.(Pre-digital camera days-I scanned it in)

Spanish 4 pounder Cannon

The Lighthouse contains an estimated 1.2 million bricks.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse, with its distinctive black and white spiral and red top is 165 feet tall. There are 219 steps to the observation deck, including the granite steps leading up to the metal stairs.

The St. Augustine Light tower was built in 1874 on Anastastia Island.

On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed on the shore of what is Matanzas Bay today, and began the founding of the Presidio of San Agustin. The town was to serve very important functions for the Spanish Empire.

Since the beginning of its construction in 1672, the Castillo de San Marcos Fort has played an important role as a strategic military post in the New World. Many flags have flown during the Castillo's illustrious history, including the Spanish (1695 - 1763) the British (1763 - 1784), the Spanish again (1784 - 1821), the United States of America (1821 - 1861), the Confederate States of America (1861 - March of 1862), and finally the United States of America again (1862 - 1900). Changes in occupation of the fort came about only through military agreements or political treaty. Amazingly, the Castillo was never taken by force.

The Castillo's walls were constructed of a local stone called "coquina" (co-key-na). The name means "little shells" and that is exactly what the stone is made of, little shellfish that died long ago and their shells have now become bonded together to form the stone.

St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city, and the oldest port in the continental United States. In the late 19th century the railroad came to town, and led by northeastern industrialist Henry Flagler, St. Augustine became a winter resort for the very wealthy. A number of mansions and palatial grand hotels of this era still exist, some converted to other use, such as housing parts of Flagler College and museums.