Experience Fort Mose

Experience Fort Mose: Traveling by Day and by Night is a monthly living history program where volunteers in period dress will offer visitors a fascinating glimpse into the past.

This program will focus on how African slaves made their way south via the "underground railroad" to the Spanish controlled settlements like Saint Augustine. They utilized the stars and sun to flee the plantations in search of refuge or freedom in La Florida.

Visitors will hear from Peter Cowdrey, historian and authority on navigation, surveying and map making at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum about how the African slaves used their knowledge of the land to escape. Cowdrey will also explain how the position of the stars and sun helped them journey south.

There will be a monthly "Experience Fort Mose" living history program highlighting a different topic in relation to Fort Mose and its role in St. Augustine's past. Volunteers in period dress will be onsite teaching visitors about the past through many demonstrations.

Admission: Regular park fees are required - $2 per person museum fee.

Where? Fort Mose State Park located at 15 Fort Mose Trail St. Augustine, FL 32084.

When? 10 am - 3 pm on Saturday, January 18, 2014.

For more information on this event or on the park please call (904) 823-2232 or visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortmose/. Fort Mose is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. The settlement was chartered by the Spanish governor of Florida in 1738, and was called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose. It served as a haven for those fleeing slavery from the English colonies in the Carolinas. Fort Mose has been recognized for its national significance and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.