The site on which Fort Ward stands was originally a camp site of Spanish explorer Pánfilo de Narváez, in 1528, when he ventured north from Tampa. Narváez saw that the area was advantageous in a geographic sense. In 1539, Hernando de Soto followed with his men. As a stone fort, its construction began in 1739. The fort was turned over to the English in 1763, half complete, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. Spain regained control and ownership, by 1787, reoccupying it for 13 more years.