Fort Caroline (French settlement destroyed in 1565)

Fort Caroline was a French Huguenot colonial outpost established in 1564 near the mouth of the St. Johns River. Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés attacked and destroyed the settlement in 1565. The exact location of the original fort is debated by historians; the Fort Caroline National Memorial marks and interprets the site today. The memorial stands as a commemoration rather than the original surviving fort structure.