Fort on the Hill, 1794
As Seen from Foot of Walnut Street; Billon

[Block 100] Fort San Carlos

At the crest of the hill stood the fort and its associated buildings to protect the little frontier town of St. Louis. From 1764 to 1780 little thought was given to the town's defense other than the fact that all the able-bodied men of the town were organized into a militia. But fears of an attack by British-led Indians in early 1780 prompted the lieutenant governor, Fernando de Leyba, to order the construction of four stone watchtowers. The first of these towers, named Fort San Carlos, along with a long entrenchment, were completed in time to drive off an enemy attack on May 26, 1780. Fort San Carlos was a simple stone watchtower, about 19 feet tall, which had a platform on the top for two artillery pieces.

In June 1780 Francisco Cruzat was reappointed lieutenant governor at St. Louis. Fear of Indian attacks agitated by the British persisted and Cruzat set about strengthening St. Louis' defenses. By 1781 there was a small stone demilune (a low wall shaped like a half moon) on the bluff at the north end of the village. A wooden stockade 9' high and 6" thick ran from the demilune around the village and back to the river. The tower named Ft. San Carlos served as the artillery headquarters and chief vantage point. The stockade was over a mile long, had four gates, and was completed by the summer of 1781. By 1785 it had rotted badly and was of no further use. It was torn down and what wood could be salvaged was used for other purposes. In 1788 Lt. Gov. Manuel Perez succeeded in rebuilding the northwest bastion in stone. It had walls 13 to 15 feet tall and gun embrasures, with a guard room and powder magazine.

Fort San Carlos, Ink on Paper by Clarence Hoblitzelle, 1897. Acc.#1897.22.5
Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society

By 1792 the Spanish were becoming alarmed at the number of Anglo-Americans who were arriving in the Mississippi River Valley, and decided to strengthen the fortifications at St. Louis in case they decided to attack. The tower of Fort San Carlos was surrounded with a square stockade 192 feet on a side, with small bastions at each of the four corners and a shallow ditch outside the walls. A stone barracks was built for the small garrison of 30 Spanish soldiers, measuring 25 x 50 feet. Other buildings were also erected within the enclosure - a kitchen which measured 14 x 14 feet, a vaulted stone dungeon 11 x 14, a powder magazine 12 x 14, and a well. A stone tower was also built on the north end of the town (on what was later Third Street and Franklin).

By 1798 these fortifications and buildings had been strengthened, and four new stone towers were completed, two on the hill (one at Third and Olive Streets, the other at third and Washington) and two with a cedar log blockhouse along the Petite Riviere south of town. (One tower was at modern Fifth and Gratiot streets and the other at about Second and LaSalle streets. The blockhouse, built in the American style, was near modern Fourth and Chouteau streets).

In 1804 about 30 soldiers of the Louisiana Regiment of the Spanish Royal Army garrisoned the fort and its scattered outposts. Soon after the arrival of the Anglo-Americans, Fort Bellefontaine was built north of the town on the Missouri River in 1805. The fortifications of St. Louis were no longer considered to be important, and were used for other purposes. The tower of Fort San Carlos became a jail, the barracks a courthouse, the bastions a garden. The buildings were soon pulled down and the stone and wood in them reused for other purposes. The tower named Fort San Carlos was torn down in 1818.

This modern view of the site of the stone watchtower named Fort San Carlos is at the confluence of Fourth Street and Walnut. The picture was taken looking southward.











This view of the site of the Fort San Carlos watchtower at Fourth and Walnut is taken looking to the southwest. The Stadium East Parking Garage is the white building in the background; many people park there when attending a baseball game at Busch Stadium, where the Cardinals play.