Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by

James Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...

between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

raids. About 630 British troops were stationed at the fort. A town of up to 1,000 colonial residents had grown up outside the fort; it was laid out following principles of the

Oglethorpe Plan The Oglethorpe Plan is an urban planning idea that was most notably used in Savannah, Georgia, one of the Thirteen Colonies, in the 18th century. The plan uses a distinctive street network with repeating squares of residential blocks, commercia ...

for towns in the Georgia Colony. The town was named Frederica, after

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

, son of King George II. The monument was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 15, 1966.

History

In the early 18th century, Europeans called the land lying between British South Carolina and

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

the "Debatable Land". Today's state of Georgia was then the center of a centuries-old imperial conflict between Spain and Britain. After the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

founded the colony of Georgia in 1733, to provide a place where poor debtors could settle, colonists from England and Scotland, and refugees from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

built Fort Frederica in 1736 to defend their new territory. They named Frederica for

, (1707–1751). The name was feminized to distinguish it from Fort Frederick in South Carolina. In the 1742 battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek, forces under Oglethorpe successfully repulsed Spanish attempts to invade St. Simons Island. Afterward the Spanish no longer threatened the colony; in 1749 the government disbanded the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

at Frederica. Soon the village fell into economic decline, and by 1755 it was mostly abandoned. The town survived a fire in 1758, but after a few more years, it was abandoned. Naturalist

William Bartram William Bartram (April 20, 1739 – July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, writer and explorer. Bartram was the author of an acclaimed book, now known by the shortened title Bartram's ''Travels'', which chronicled his explorations of the S ...

visited the site in March, 1774. Though it was in ruins he noted that there was still a small garrison there. Fort Frederica was documented and authorized as a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

on May 26, 1936, under the

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

administration during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

.para.7
During this period, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA) sponsored numerous surveys of historic areas and buildings across the country to identify, document and protect the resources for the future, as well as to provide employment. Starting in 1947, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

and the Ft. Frederica Association, a citizens' interest group, sponsored a series of

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

investigations at the Frederica site. Using information from 18th-century maps and journals as guides, the archaeologists excavated sections of the fort and village. By correlating the archaeological data with the historic documents and excavating remains of structures, the archaeologists have provided important insight into Frederica's past and colonial history, a complex time of international rivalries. As a historic area under the National Park Service, the National Monument was listed on the

on October 15, 1966. Fort Frederica is open to the public and admission is free.

Gallery

File:Fort Frederica 1742.jpg, Historical layout of the colonial fort File:FortFredMagazine.jpg, The

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

of Fort Frederica File:FortFredBackside.jpg, Fort Frederica on riverfront File:FortFredBarracks.jpg, Remains of Fort Frederica barracks File:FredericaHomesite.jpg, Remains of Frederica house File:StSimonsMap.jpg, Modern map of the area File:Frederica, St. Simons Island, Georgia.jpg, Historical layout of the town

Related sites

Fort Argyle Old Fort Argyle Site is a historic site near Savannah. It is in Fort Stewart in Bryan County, Georgia. It was an English military settlement. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places ( ...

Battle of Bloody Marsh The Battle of Bloody Marsh took place on July 18, 1742 (new style) between Spanish and British forces on St. Simons Island, part of the Province of Georgia, resulting in a victory for the British. Part of the War of Jenkins' Ear, the battle wa ...

Battle of Gully Hole Creek The Battle of Gully Hole Creek took place on July 18, 1742 (new style), between Spanish and British forces in the Province of Georgia, resulting in a victory for the British. Part of a much larger conflict, known as the War of Jenkins' Ear, th ...

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “ St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish engi ...

Fort Caroline National Memorial 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 under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on 22 June 1564, followin ...

Fort King George Fort King George State Historic Site is a fort located in the U.S. state of Georgia in McIntosh County, adjacent to Darien. The fort was built in 1721 along what is now known as the Darien River and served as the southernmost outpost of the ...

Fort Matanzas National Monument Fort Matanzas National Monument () is the site where the Spanish built a fort. It was designated a United States national monument on October 15, 1924. The monument consists of a 1740 Spanish fort called Fort Matanzas, and about 100 acres (0.4 ...

* Fort Morris State Historic Site *

Wormsloe Historic Site The Wormsloe Historic Site, originally known as Wormsloe Plantation, is a state historic site near Savannah, Georgia, in the southeastern United States. The site consists of , protecting part of what was once the Wormsloe Plantation, a large est ...

List of national monuments of the United States The United States has 138 protected areas known as national monuments. The president of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, and the United States Congress can do so by legislation. The president's a ...

Footnotes

References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

External links

* Official NPS website
Fort Frederica National Monument

Archeology at Fort Frederica National Monument

* ttp://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/glynn/fort-frederica Fort Fredericahistorical marker * {{authority control Government buildings completed in 1748 Military installations established in 1748 Archaeological sites in Georgia (U.S. state) Frederica National Park Service national monuments in Georgia (U.S. state) History of the Thirteen Colonies Military and war museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums in Glynn County, Georgia Archaeological museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas established in 1936 Frederica Frederica Protected areas of Glynn County, Georgia Frederica 1736 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Glynn County, Georgia Former county seats in Georgia (U.S. state) St. Simons, Georgia