(north side)
The Powder House Lot
In 1797-1800, the Spanish built on this site a coquina structure with tile roof and masonry fence, to store 100,000 pounds of gunpowder. A smaller structure was also built to serve as guard post. Each redoubt in St. Augustine's defenses was supplied from this magazine. After acquiring Florida in 1821, the U.S. continued using the powder house until 1860. The structures were then neglected, and local citizens used the stone for construction and repair. Congress transferred this lot to the city in 1917. Years later the Federal Government recovered the lot and in 1956 deeded the 14.99 acres to St. Johns County.
(south side)
St. Johns County
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 than 2/3 of Florida's present 67 counties have been carved from St. John's original boundaries, reducing it to 609 square miles of land area.
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