In October 1702, an attempt to turn the blockhouse into a proper fort began after the defeat of a Spanish-Apalachee force on the Flint River. The fort would have a palisade and parapets, as well as a dry moat. It was apparently completed in 1703 despite the impact of a severe epidemic. At the end of July 1704, following a devastating series of raids by English and Creek raiders, the diminished Spanish garrison destroyed the fort and withdrew to St. Augustine.