<P> The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States . Located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine , Florida , the fort was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza . Construction began in 1672 , 107 years after the city 's founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire . The fort 's construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after the destructive raid by the English privateer Robert Searles in 1668 . Work proceeded under the administration of Guerra 's successor , Manuel de Cendoya in 1671 , and the first coquina stones were laid in 1672 . The construction of the core of the current fortress was completed in 1695 , though it would undergo many alterations and renovations over the centuries . </P>
<P> The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States . Located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine , Florida , the fort was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza . Construction began in 1672 , 107 years after the city 's founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menéndez de Avilés , when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire . The fort 's construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after the destructive raid by the English privateer Robert Searles in 1668 . Work proceeded under the administration of Guerra 's successor , Manuel de Cendoya in 1671 , and the first coquina stones were laid in 1672 . The construction of the core of the current fortress was completed in 1695 , though it would undergo many alterations and renovations over the centuries . </P>
when did the castillo de san marcos begin construction
when did the castillo de san marcos begin construction
1672
1672