Anastasia Island is a barrier island

Barrier island

Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...

 which is approximately 18 miles (29 km) long located off the northeast Atlantic coast of Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The island is located east and southeast of St. Augustine

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

. It is separated from the mainland by the Matanzas River

Matanzas River

Matanzas River is a body of water located in St. Johns and Flagler counties in Florida. It is a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island....

, part of the Intracoastal waterway

Intracoastal Waterway

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...

, Matanzas Bay separates the island from downtown St. Augustine in the north and Matanzas inlet marks the southern terminus of the island.

Part of the island (the Davis Shores and Lighthouse Park neighborhoods) is within St. Augustine city limits, while other communities on the island include St. Augustine Beach

St. Augustine Beach, Florida

St. Augustine Beach is a city in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,683 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,002....

, Coquina Gables, Butler Beach

Butler Beach, Florida

Butler Beach is a census-designated place in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Butler Beach is located at ....

, Crescent Beach

Crescent Beach, Florida

Crescent Beach is an unincorporated census-designated place in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. The population was 985 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crescent Beach is located at ....

, and Anastasia.

Fort Matanzas National Monument

Fort Matanzas National Monument

Commemorated in 1924, Fort Matanzas National Monument is a United States National Monument run by the National Park Service. The Monument consists of a 1740 Spanish fort, Fort Matanzas, and about 100 acres of salt marsh and barrier islands along the Matanzas River on the northern Atlantic coast...

 is located at the southern end of the island; a Spanish colonial era fort, is located on Rattlesnake Island in the Intracoastal waterway

Intracoastal Waterway

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...

 within the park boundaries, it was designed to protect St. Augustine from attack via the Matanzas River .

History of Anastasia Island

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...

 may have landed on the barrier island in 1513. Spanish Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...

, founder of St. Augustine, moved his initial settlement to Anastasia Island after a revolt by the Timucua

Timucua

The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...

n Indians in 1566. This settlement was short-lived, and eventually moved back to the mainland at the site of present-day downtown St. Augustine.

The Spanish built a wooden watch-tower on Anastasia Island, which was sighted by Sir Francis Drake in 1586, whereupon he came ashore and attacked the city. The watch tower was described as a "beacon," and thus probably represents the first lighthouse built in the United States. Commercial orange plantations were operated by Spanish and British planters on Anastasia Island in the 18th century. A later version of the watch tower, made from coquina

Coquina

Coquina is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of either molluscs, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the average size of the...

 stone, was definitely used as a lighthouse by this time, and it was replaced by the present day St. Augustine Light

St. Augustine Light

The St. Augustine Light is an active lighthouse on the north end of Anastasia Island, within the current city limits of St. Augustine, Florida. The tower, built in 1874, is owned by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, Inc. , a not-for-profit maritime museum and private aid-to-navigation...

 in 1874. Shortly after its construction, the original lighthouse collapsed due to beach erosion and the encroachment of the sea. The earliest residence on Anastasia Island that is still standing is the Keeper's and Assistant Keeper's house built for the new Lighthouse. Other houses in the Lighthouse Park neighborhood also date to the 1880s.

The Bridge of Lions

Bridge of Lions

The Bridge of Lions is a bascule bridge that spans the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida. A part of State Road A1A, it connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. A pair of Medici lions made of marble guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927 across Matanzas Bay...

 was constructed in 1926-7, and shortly thereafter the Davis Shores neighborhood was developed by filling in extensive wetlands. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the Coast Guard occupied the Lighthouse, and other residences in Davis Shores were used as barracks for soldiers.

Below the ground of the majority of the island, there is a mass of coarse shell material, called coquina

Coquina

Coquina is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of either molluscs, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the average size of the...

. This is the only local source of stone, and was used by the Spanish and later the British to construct many of the buildings in St. Augustine (including the Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...

). See Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos

The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...

 (Fort St. Mark) for a reference to this building technique.

Parks

In addition to Fort Matanzas National Monument, Anastasia island is also home to the 1600 acres (6.5 km²), Anastasia State Park

Anastasia State Park

Anastasia State Recreation Area is a Florida State Park located on a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of Anastasia Island across Matanzas Bay from downtown St. Augustine...

.

External links

• St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum website
• Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) website Maritime archaeology around Anastasia Island
• Anastasia State Park at Florida State Parks