Historic Tree Grove: Fort Matanzas Red Cedar

Red Cedar (Juniperus silicicola)
Red Cedar is a tall, fast-growing member of the Juniper family native to the southeast United States. Though not a true cedar, the wood is rot-resistant and the heartwood has a beautiful reddish hue, giving it its common name. Red Cedars can grow to 45 feet or more, eventually changing from a pyramidal shape to a more spreading rounded form. The small berries are attractive to birds like mockingbirds and Cedar Waxwings. Learn more about Red Cedar here.

Fort Matanzas
In 1565, Florida was under Spanish control, but a small group of French Huguenots had built a new fort near present-day Jacksonville. The Spanish, led by Menéndez de Avilés, set out to attack and drive out these new settlers. In the ensuing battle, 245 French Huguenots were stranded in an inlet just south of the new village of St. Augustine and were massacred among the dunes by Spanish forces.The location soon became known as "Matanzas", the Spanish word for "slaughter".

For the next 235 years, the Spanish controlled Florida. They built wooden watchtowers at Matanzas Inlet, and in 1740 began construction on a small fort to guard access to this unprotected inlet that could allow pirates or foreign forces to reach the now well-established city of St Augustine. The fort was built of coquina, a sedimentary rock made of shell and common to the area. It is now a National Monument and open to the public for tours. Learn more about Fort Matanzas here.

A Settlers' Garden

The area beneath the Fort Matanzas Red Cedar is planted as a Settlers' Garden, reflecting plants that early European settlers would have grown as they moved into the area. It includes edible plants, which would have been vital to settlers' survival, herbs they would have brought from home to bring their cooking a more familiar flavor, and ornamental plants in a "front porch" setting. Plants in this garden currently include:

• Wild Everglades Tomato: Early settlers were delighted to find a type of wild tomato already growing in Florida that was able to withstand even the hot humid temperatures of summer. 
• Southern Highbush Blueberries: Native blueberries were a treat for settlers, who found the fruit growing wild and learned to cultivate it for their own use.
• Cocoplum (Chrysobalanus icaco): Settlers learned to eat the fruit of this plant from local Native tribes.
• Bird Pepper (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum): A relatively hot small pepper native to Florida, used in cooking.
• Herbs: Herbs in the gardens include sage, parsley, rue, and mint. These non-natives would have been brought as seeds by the settlers and carefully cultivated
• Coontie: Another native food source that early settlers learned about from Native tribes.
• Native Wildflowers: Settlers' wives and daughters frequently sought to make their often-primitive living conditions a little more "homelike", and would search for native wildflowers to transplant to the area around their homes. Current plantings include blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella) and black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia).
• Cottage Garden Flowers: These same women often brought a small plant or two from the "old country" to grow in their new homes. In later years, these were frequently cultivated in rows of coffee cans on the front porch, and "slips" (cuttings) would freely be shared among neighboring women. Current flowers include geraniums, phlox, and sweet alyssum.

Fort Matanzas Art and Artists

Artwork for the Fort Matanzas Red Cedar informational sign was created by local artist Holly Bird.

Bench artwork was created by Tampa artist Terry Klaaren.