Any St. Augustine tour will focus on the history of the city, which was founded in 1565 and remains the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the United States. Located at the northern edge of the Historic District, the St. Augustine City Gates are well over 200 years old, having been constructed in 1808 to protect the city from intruders. While the doors have since been removed, the two pillars still stand in the middle of the city and you can pass through them the way people have been for over two centuries.

For most of St. Augustine’s history, the city’s leadership was primarily concerned with the threat of invasion by sea. In 1695, they completed the Castillo de San Marcos, a fortification designed to protect St. Augustine from British privateers and naval attacks. The Spanish would ultimately cede Florida to the British in 1763, but they were able to get the territory back in the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

When the Spanish took control of St. Augustine again, they had a new rival to worry about: the United States. While the Castillo de San Marcos protected the city from naval invasion, its residents were concerned that an American military force might march across the border from Georgia and attack by land. In response to this threat, St. Augustine was fortified with heavy walls covering the northern side of the city, rebuilding old fortifications called the Cubo Line. When the walls were completed, they added the city gate, building the pillars out of coquina, a type of sedimentary rock made of ancient shells. Although the walls and gates were formidable, the Spanish would ultimately cede Florida to the US without a fight as part of the Adams-Otis Treaty in 1821.

To make the most of your next trip, check out our St. Augustine Self-Guided Walking Tour, or you can sign up for Action+ and gain access to over 100 tours for a single price.