On June 26, 1740, at daybreak, a group consisting of Freed Africans, Native Americans and Spanish soldiers attacked the British Highland Rangers that occupied Fort Mose. General Oglethorpe's siege on St. Augustine having failed, British troops retreated back to Georgia.
In 1996, Thomas Jackson and other residents stood in ankle boots in the marshy area of what would be the Fort Mose Historic State Park to vote in members of the Fort Mose Historical Society.
On June 27, 2001, the society board members stood proudly on a 700-foot boardwalk, nearly completed as part of a plan to mark the first free black settlement in America.
The park is located on Saratoga Boulevard off U.S. 1, near the new City Gate.
About 25 people gathered at the park, taking a stroll along the boardwalk, which will be completed in mid-July. The day also marked the 261st anniversary of the Battle of Bloody Mose.
City commissioners, society board members and residents gathered to mark the anniversaries and the boardwalk ribbon-cutting ceremony.
''We are dedicating one more piece of the pie,'' said Steve Gard, with the Florida Park Service.
Fort Mose was built in the mid-18th century and occupied by black soldiers and their families. It is operated by the Florida Park Service with the Fort Mose Historical Society acting as the citizens support organization.
Last April, park officials built a parking and picnic area and added lime rock to the entrance roadway. Native plants and trees were also planted.
The boardwalk, located on the 26-acre site, was one more step in completing the illustration of the park's history. It will eventually include two interpretative kiosks that tell of Fort Mose. The boardwalk cost about $90,000 to build.
Also on the horizon are a visitor center and additional parking. However, more land is needed since only about six acres of the 26-acre site, predominately marshland, consists of dry ground. Negotiations to acquire nearby land are under way, said Paul Crawford with the Florida Park Service.
''We are trying to develop the site into a first class destination point for anyone who wants to study the history of African Americans,'' said Jackson, the Fort Mose Historical Society president.