St Augustine - Fort Mose

Over 250 years ago, slaves risked their lives to escape slavery on English plantations in South Carolina. Africans and Native Americans became allies to create the first underground railroad.

The fugitives came to Fort Mose, where the Spanish freed them in return for their conversion to Catholicism. In 1738, the Spanish established a fort they called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, now known as Fort Mose. This area soon became a fortified town for African Americans. Fort Mose is considered the first legally sanctioned free black town in the United States.