Fort Caroline
- Florida
photo: Rick Rasmussen
Why go there?
Fort Caroline was an attempted French colonial settlement in Florida, located on the banks of the St. Johns River in present-day Duval County. It was established in 1564 following King Charles IX's enlisting of Jean Ribault and his Huguenot settlers to stake a claim in French Florida ahead of Spain. The French colony came into conflict with the Spanish, who had also established a settlement nearby, and after a brief skirmish the Spanish forces massacred the French colonists. The Fort Caroline National Memorial now commemorates the failed settlement.
