To help celebrate Black History Month, Fort Mose Historic State Park in St. Augustine is launching a self-guided educational tour experience along the Flight to Freedom Trail, bringing to life the history of the park year-round.
The initiative was announced Thursday.
Fort Mose Historic State Park is the site of the first free black community in what is now the United States and can date its roots back to 1687. It is a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO Slave Route Project and is on the National Register for Historic Places and the Florida African American History Trail.
“Fort Mose is an incredible example of the history that lives in Florida’s state parks,” said Shawn Hamilton, DEP Deputy Secretary for Land and Recreation in a news release. “More than 300 years ago, Fort Mose served as a beacon of hope for enslaved people in what would become the United States. We’re excited and honored to have a new tour experience that will help visitors make meaningful connections with the people who traveled to, settled and lived there.”
Fort Mose hosts an annual three-day Flight to Freedom event for over 2,000 students and the public, where reenactors set up stations along the trail. They tell the story of what it was like for the escaped slaves to make the treacherous journey from the Carolinas to this free settlement.
New, interactive educational signage along the ¾-mile trail will allow this reenactment and history to be experienced all year long. The signs will include QR codes for visitors to scan, launching videos of the reenactors telling their story.
"We launched the Flight to Freedom reenactment in 2009,” said Charles Ellis, President of Fort Mose Historical Society. “Since that time, thousands of park visitors of all ages have stepped onto the Trail, encountering freedom seekers, slave catchers, a Yamasee chief, and helpful friars and guides. Now, thanks to this generous donation, we will be able to offer this unique 'living history' experience to park visitors at all times.”
Fort Mose Historic State Park partnered with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida to launch the self-guided tour. “FPL joins The Community Foundation as a proud supporter of the Flight to Freedom trail initiative and the significance it will have for generations to come,” said Jim Bush, area external affairs manager at Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).
