Fort King National Historic Landmark — Attraction in Ocala

Interesting history, excellent information and displays, docents were very helpful and very friendly and very knowledgeable. We learned so much in the couple hours we spent here. Went on a Saturday, so the visitor’s center was open. But it appears to be worth a stop anytime during the week since the fort is accessible anytime.

Started by watching a short video of the history of the fort and about the Dade massacre. The docent inside the visitor center then told us about Osceola and the fort and the new blacksmith shop and the re-enactments and events they have coming up at the fort. Then we checked out the rest of the visitor center and headed out towards the fort.

We had just taken a look at the new blacksmith shop and were walking towards the fort when a friendly voice asked if we’d like to see more of the shop. Turns out it was Dan Sivilich, a battlefield archaeologist, who literally wrote the book on musket ball and small shot identification! As our luck would have it there were only a few other people around at this time so we basically got a private tour of the shop, learned about the building, got to try hammering a nail and operating the bellows. Later, he gave us a private tour of the artifacts in the museum. So a special shout out to Dan for making our visit extra special. If you get a chance to meet him, he’s got another interesting fact about himself that will make you want to shake his hand.

We didn’t walk the trail but we did walk back to the cemetery site. Not much to see there however the trail looked nice but it was lunch time. We plan to go back sometime again and walk the trail, perhaps when they’re having the...

One of two or three Second Seminole War fort sites that have been located definitely and preserved for historical education purposes on mainland Florida. (Out of over 400 established between 1835-1842) This was the site of the start of the Second Seminole War - 7 years of conflict between the U.S. government and the Seminole people of Florida. At the time, this war and it's participants were in the international spotlight. It was here that the Seminole leader, Osceola, became famous, eventually being known world-wide. This site preserves and tells the story of the soldiers stationed here and the Seminole who came here for treaty talks and war. there is now a re-creation of the fort built to original specifications. The first reenactment was held December 2016. There are nature trails and a small temporary visitor center, with a larger and better center to come. The staff are striving to learn and share the fort's story accurately and passionately of West Point soldiers, brave Seminole, and the beginnings of Ocala, Marion county, and the opening up of the Florida peninsula. Come see where history was made! This is a hidden gem in the...

We visited on a weekday in February 2024. Fort King is free to visit, which is nice. Unfortunately, the visitors center is only open on Friday and Saturday. So we missed out on that part. I don't know if other things like the blacksmith shop would be open as well, or not. But it also was locked up for our visit. Other than the fort itself and other outdoor exhibits, nothing was going on during our visit. So if you would prefer to see all that is available, go on Friday or Saturday. There are multiple exhibits that are open and can be experienced on your own. You do have to do a good amount of reading to really get the most out of it. But that's up to you. We didn't walk around the trails as we were tight on time. But they looked nice. There were restrooms behind the welcome center, and a water fountain in the front of the welcome center on the left side. So even though the welcome center is closed mid week. They do have restrooms available. Even though we missed out on some of the experiences that are available on the weekends. We still had an enjoyable visit. Since it's free to visit, we may stop back again to try to visit...