Jacksonville's Fort Caroline Memorial Is Moving to Higher Ground: What's Changing and the 1564 Story Behind It

The National Park Service is moving the Fort Caroline memorial exhibit in Jacksonville to higher ground after Hurricane Ian damaged it and recurring floods kept threatening it. The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve announced Sept. 3 that it had finalized plans for a new outdoor memorial near the park's visitor center, on upland property away from the floodplain with views of the St. Johns River.

The memorial honors the French settlers who tried to build a colony on the St. Johns in the 1560s, decades before Jamestown. Here's what's changing and the history behind it.

Why is the memorial moving?

The park says the project will repair storm damage from Hurricane Ian and reduce the memorial's vulnerability to future flooding.

"Relocating the memorial to higher ground will also reduce its vulnerability to future flooding while minimizing impacts to other park resources," Superintendent Chris Hughes said in the announcement.

Has the plan been approved?

Yes. The Park Service released an environmental assessment in March that looked at alternatives for the move. In June, it issued a finding of no significant impact on the natural, cultural or human environment, which cleared the way for the plan.

The announcement didn't give a construction schedule or an opening date for the new memorial.

Who's paying for it?

The money comes from disaster funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which Congress passed with $1.5 billion in supplemental disaster money for national parks hit by recent storms. That $1.5 billion covers parks nationwide, the Park Service says. Fort Caroline's share wasn't listed.

Is the fort exhibit the original?

No. The wooden fort was built in 1964 from historic drawings of the French fort, and it's a one-third-scale replica, according to the Park Service.

The story behind Fort Caroline

France wanted a share of the riches Spain was gaining in the Americas, the Park Service says. The colony started as a business venture, but as persecution of French Protestants (Huguenots) grew, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny proposed that it could also be a refuge for them.

Here's the timeline, from the Park Service's chronology:

Laudonnière brought 200 soldiers and artisans. With help from the Timucua-speaking Mocama people, they built a village and fort on the river's south bank and named it La Caroline after their king, Charles IX.

The colony lasted barely more than a year. After Menéndez founded St. Augustine to the south, Ribault's fleet sailed out and was destroyed by storms, and the Spanish marched on the fort and took it on Sept. 20, 1565.

What else can you see there?

Fort Caroline is part of the 46,000-acre Timucuan Preserve. The preserve's visitor center at Fort Caroline has exhibits on the area's natural history, European exploration and the Timucua, including what the Park Service calls the only owl totem found east of the Mississippi River.

Nearby trails include:

• Hammock Trail Loop: a 1-mile loop through several Florida ecosystems, with signs along the way
• Spanish Pond: a boardwalk trail directly across from the memorial, about three-quarters of a mile round trip (not a loop)

Picnicking is allowed, and dogs are welcome outdoors on a 6-foot leash. There's no food for sale at park sites.

Hours and admission

All Park Service sites in the preserve close on Thanksgiving, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

How we did this

Jax Times used the National Park Service's Sept. 3, 2026, relocation announcement, its Fort Caroline chronology and "A Foothold in Florida" history page, and the Timucuan Preserve's Plan Your Visit and Operating Hours pages.