Skip to main content

Castle

Castillo de San Marcos
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BuildingsEra: 1600sDateCreated: 1672-1695St. AugustineState: FLCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Castillo-de-San-Marcos/

The fort was constructed of coquina rock. Unique to Florida, the rock consists of millions of seashells cemented together. It proved highly durable and easily absorbed the force of many cannon balls. 

The Castillo de San Marcos was the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States. Originally an outpost of the Spanish Empire, it is the oldest major engineered structure existing in America.

YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/inazakira (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Castillo de San MarcosEra_date_from: 1672
Subscribe to Castle

Innovations

Castillo de San Marcos

The fort was constructed of coquina rock. Unique to Florida, the rock consists of millions of seashells cemented together. It proved highly durable and easily absorbed the force of many cannon balls. 

The Castillo de San Marcos was the first permanent European settlement in the…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.