OLD SPANISH QUARRIES

About 200 yards south-east of this point are the remains of the King's Coquina Quarries. (Coquina, a type of limestone composed of mollusk shells and sand, is found along the north-east coast of Florida.) Coquina was used in the building of many early colonial structures in St. Augustine, including the fortress Castillo de San Marcos (1672-1696). On July 21, 1821, Major General Andrew Jackson, Florida's first Territorial Governor, established St. Johns County, with St. Augustine as the county seat. It contained all of Florida east of the Suwannee River, approximately 39,400 square miles, with over 1,100 miles of coastline. Since 1821, more counties have been carved from St. Johns' original boundaries, reducing it to 609 square miles of land area.