Coquina Quarry at Anastasia State Park
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Coquina has a long history in St. Augustine that started at the quarries. Coquina is malleable when wet, meaning, during the quarrying process the stones were shaped, then dried for approximately a year. Quarries like this one in Anastasia State Park were excavated by Native Americans and worked on by convicts, slaves, and captives of varying backgrounds.
1671 marks the year that coquina mining began by the Spanish. Structures still seen today like Fort Matanzas and the Castillo de San Marcos are made from coquina. The stones were transported across the Matanzas Bay or other bodies of water via canoes.
In 1949, Anastasia Island State Park was formed which included the coquina quarry. On February 23, 1972 this quarry was added to the National Register of Historic Places which is associated with the National Park Service. Today, the impact of coquina quarries can be seen in walks downtown St. Augustine when looking at the older buildings around town.
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Photograph 1 (1870s): Graham, Thomas. Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine. Univ. of Florida Press, 2014.
Photograph 2 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Anastasia Island Quarry." February 25, 2023.
Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Coquina at Anastasia Island Quarry." February 25, 2023.
Photograph 4 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Old Spanish Quarries Plaque." October 24, 2025.
Photograph 5 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Old Spanish Quarries Plaque. 2" October 24, 2025.
The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:
Cross, Brandon D. “Spanish Mining of the Quarry: Anastasia State Park.” Edited by Bernard Fisher. HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. September 5, 2024. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=153682.
Florida State Parks: The Real Florida. “ Anastasia State Park.” 2024. https://www.floridastateparks.org/Anastasia.
Florida State Parks: The Real Florida. “Spanish Coquina Quarries at Anastasia.” 2024. https://www.floridastateparks.org/Anastasia/spanish-coquina-quarries-anastasia.
Mariner, Cosmos. “Coquina – Foundation of St. Augustine: Anastasia State Park.” Edited by Andrew Ruppenstein. HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. September 5, 2024. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=127408.
Winsberg, Morton D., compiler. Florida’s History through Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places. Institute of Science and Public Affairs/Florida State Univ., 1988.
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The following St. Augustine Fiction book features this historic site as a location:
The Florida Snow Party