Finding the Way to Freedom in Spanish Florida

Volunteers from Florida Living History will present "Finding the Way to Freedom in Spanish Florida" at Fort Mose on Saturday, January 17, 2015. The program is a discussion and a historical re-enactment focusing on the route that African slaves followed from English plantations to reach freedom in Spanish Florida.

Historian Peter Cowdrey will discuss map-making of the period and how this journey, America's first underground railroad, was planned using the refugees' knowledge of the land and stars.  

Financial support for the event is provided in part by the Florida Humanities Council. 

Admission: This heritage event is free of charge to the public. There is a Museum admission fee of $2 per adult. Children, ages 5 and younger, are free.     

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

When? 10 am - 3 pm on Saturday, January 17, 2015.

For more information on this event, call (904) 823-2232 or visit here.

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.

Founded in St. Augustine in 2009, Florida Living History is a community-based, non-profit 501(c)3 organization of volunteers dedicated to educating the public about Florida's colonial and territorial history through the use of living-history programs, demonstrations and recreated portrayals of significant historic events. For more information on Florida Living History, call (8977) 352-4478 or visit here.