My Trip to Fort Caroline!

       Hi everyone! On October 6th, I went to the Timucuan Preserve, specifically Fort Caroline. I went around 12:30 pm and I brought my cousin and her baby along with me. We started out on the trail, and the first thing we saw was a replica of the Timucua people's hut.

Timucua's Village

       It's so cool to me that a tribe once lived here. I live not even 5 minutes from the preserve and it's crazy to think about how close I live to this history! This is probably my billionth time coming to the preserve, but it never gets old. We headed down the trail a little further and passed the river overlook and stumbled upon the fort. But we of course had to stop at the oven!

When we told my little cousin we were going to the fort she got so excited.

 She doesn't even know what it is though haha. I told her about the oven outside the fort and how they'd use it to make bread for the people. Also the fact that they put the oven a little far from the actual fort incase a fire started, which was a very smart move. I think she loved the oven more than the actual fort! We then made our way into the fort, but we of course had to take another picture first!

It was interesting to come here after reading chapter 4 in the history book. The first few pages talks about how a french man named Rene de Laudonniere sailed to Florida, and him and other frenchmen built Fort Caroline. ( Lyon, 2018). Laudonniere and his men created a good relationship with the Timucua people who lived nearby, but unfortunately the supplies didm't last long. Rene set out and went to get more supplies. During this, Jean Ribault came to relieve Rene and hold down the fort. Ribault was the one who brought the cannons in, something my baby cousin was quite afraid of at first!

cannon!

      Although they had cannons and a moat surrounding the fort, that didn't stop Spanish explorer Pedro Menedez de Aviles from invading the fort and slaughtering the settlers. It was said that he spared a few of their lives, but, including Ribault, he massacred the rest. He then apparently wasn't through with his rampage because he traveled to Cape Canaveral and destroyed a fort that Ribault's surviving men made. (Lyon, 2018). Talk about a hot head!

me taking a picture of us on the trail!

After hanging out in the fort, trying to teach a (very advanced) 2 year old about the history of Fort Caroline, we hopped back on the trail and walked around the whole thing until we made it back to the parking lot. We stayed at the fort for maybe about 30 minutes just hanging around, looking out at the river, and then maybe about an hour walking the trails. We would have stayed longer at the fort, but as much as I like going there, it's sort of underwhelming! Don't get me wrong, it's a great part of history and Florida, but there's not much to look at inside. It's just a neat place to visit once in a while. 

If anyone has a chance to visit the fort, it's an interesting place to visit. If you want even more detailed information, there's a Fort Caroline visitor center that has a bunch of cool tools and weapons that the Timucua people used, along with replica items of what some frenchmen used in the fort. 

Overall, I had a great time at Fort Caroline and I had a greater appreciation for it after reading our history book!

Gannon, M., & Lyon, E. (2018). Settlement and Survival. In The History of Florida. essay, University Press of Florida.