Crumbling Coquina (English)
Castillo de San Marcos was built using coquina, a local limestone. This porous limestone is made from millions of seashells pressed together for thousands of years. The Spanish coated the fort walls . . . — — Map (db m127745) HM
Prior to the 1898 development of this land as a Waterworks Pumping Station, the area was undeveloped oak hammock north of the city limits close to the early railroad depot that converged with the Old Shell Road leading into the city. The 1880s . . . — — Map (db m208832) HM
The De Hita-González site originally contained two separate buildings. At the time when the Spanish evacuated Florida in 1763, Bernardo González owned a house of coquina and directly adjacent to the south was the tabby house of Juana de Avero and . . . — — Map (db m237114) HM
Deadly Crossfire (English)
The Spanish built the star-shaped Castillo de San Marcos in the late-1600s. The star design responded to the advent of a deadly new weapon: the cannon. The fort's complex shape meant a battery of cannons on the . . . — — Map (db m127750) HM
Defense in Depth (English)
Enemy troops would have encountered an obstacle course of rising slopes, low walls, and ditches before reaching the Castillo's walls. The Spanish built this extensive defensive system to help protect the fort. . . . — — Map (db m127289) HM
On March 3, A.D. 1513 Don Juan Ponce De Leon set sail from Porto Rico in search of “Bimini” and the “Fountain of Youth.” On Easter Sunday March 27 he sighted this land and named it “Florida.” April 3, A.D. 1513 he entered the harbor and landed . . . — — Map (db m188698) HM
The stone walls of this building date from before 1750 and were part of a house owned by the Royal Treasurer late in the First Spanish Period. During the British Period it served for a time as the home of Governor John Moultrie. In 1837 Dr. Seth S. . . . — — Map (db m46797) HM
Engulfed in Flames (English)
Spanish soldiers watch in horror as English troops set fire to their homes. They are helpless. The drawbridges are up. The soldier-settlers and their families are sheltered within the crowded fortress. Except . . . — — Map (db m127748) HM
One of the few Spanish Colonial buildings remaining in St. Augustine and among a smaller group from the First Spanish Period, this structure suffered two fires and underwent many major alterations. The first documented property owner, and possible . . . — — Map (db m111252) HM
In colonial times, water was difficult to obtain and precious. Fresh water is increasingly precious in our world today.
En la época colonial, el agua era valiosa y dificil de obtener. El agua dulce se está volviendo . . . — — Map (db m237065) HM
In Memory of
Father Pedro Camps
the spiritual leader of the
Minorcan Colony
This Statue Presented To
Most Reverend Paul F. Tanner
Bishop of St. Augustine by
Fernando A. Rubio of Minorca
and . . . — — Map (db m153919) HM
Bronze statue of Father Camps and a group of Minorcan colonists. It was erected in 1975 by Minorcan descendants in memory of their spiritual leader who kept the Catholic faith alive in Florida during the British occupation that ended in 1784. . . . — — Map (db m154557) HM
The first muster of militiamen in the Continental United States occurred on this site on September 16, 1565 Monument Dedicated by the National Guard Association of Florida July 2015 at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park Saint . . . — — Map (db m188700) HM
The first muster of Spanish militiamen in the newly-established presidio (fortified encampment) of St. Augustine took place in September of 1565. During the onset of the San Mateo hurricane Adelantado Pedro Menendez de Aviles assembled 500 regular . . . — — Map (db m92865) HM
St. Augustine had no Protestant church when it became an American town in 1821. At first a united Protestant church was favored. Many denominations sent missionaries such as Presbyterian Eleazer Lathrop, who first arrived in 1821. By October, . . . — — Map (db m106338) HM
This house was reconstructed on original foundations in 1965. It represents the "house of stone" that was the residence of Pedro de Florencia in 1763. Florencia, a merchant and store owner, came from a long line of native St. Augustinians.
In . . . — — Map (db m236970) HM
Henry M. Flagler built the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) to link his resort empire and establish the east coast of Florida as “The American Riviera.” Flagler, partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, developed the Atlantic . . . — — Map (db m77255) HM
In 1821, the United States assumed control of Florida and federal troops occupied the fort. It was renamed Ft. Marion, for the Revolutionary war hero Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox." In order to modernize the fort's defensives, the east portion of . . . — — Map (db m46542) HM
Fortress Facelift (English)
Through treaty, Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821. Built to defend the city, the Castillo remained a defensive post when ownership changed. Renamed Fort Marion, the Americans made the Castillo . . . — — Map (db m127738) HM
The Fountain of Youth Park commemorates the 1513 arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in Florida and the legend of the Fountain of Youth.
People have lived on this site for over 3,000 years, since the Archaic Period of Florida’s history.
In 1565 . . . — — Map (db m79574) HM
On this site, where the "Genovar Opera House" once stood, Frederick Douglass spoke to the residents of St. Augustine on Sunday, April 7, 1889. Born into slavery in 1818, Douglass rose in the pre-Civil War years to become a leading exponent of the . . . — — Map (db m46795) HM
The set of masks that decorate this fountain was a gift to the City of St. Augustine by its sister city in Spain, the City of Avilés, birthplace of Pedro Menéndez, founder of St. Augustine in 1565. Presented in 2005 to the people of St. Augustine . . . — — Map (db m46680) HM
Artilleryman Martin Martinez Gallegos lived on this property, which his wife Victoria brought into the marriage. In the 1960s crews used colonial building materials and colonial building techniques to replicate the original house, constructed of . . . — — Map (db m236912) HM
Gault Street was one of the historically black residential streets in North City. Many residents worked at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Fountain of Youth, laundries and ice plants that were once located in the area. . . . — — Map (db m7580) HM
Here on this site, 42 St. George Street, stood the home of the nation's first Black general, Jorge Biassou, who came to St. Augustine from his native Haiti in 1796 as an officer of the Spanish military.
Biassou was one of the original leaders . . . — — Map (db m70944) HM
The Gómez House is representative of the board-and-batten structure on this lot at the end of the First Spanish Period (1565-1763). Such frame buildings comprised only 23 percent of all St. Augustine structures in 1763. Most buildings by the middle . . . — — Map (db m236949) HM
Government House & Plaza (English)
St. Augustine's Plaza is the city's heart and soul. Dominating the west end of the Plaza since the 16th century, with a view of all activities on the Plaza and in the harbor, the Governor's House was . . . — — Map (db m127546) HM
Government House: Changing of the Guard (English)
Until 1763, the Governor's House was Spanish Florida's capitol. When Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain, the British governors of East Florida made Governor's House their official . . . — — Map (db m128190) HM
Government House: Legacy of Authority (English)
Government House is a landmark in the history of our nation's government. From the 16th century, a building on this site served as an administrative center — as official governor's . . . — — Map (db m127476) HM
Government House is nationally significant as the first known Federal government restoration of a historic building to accommodate modern governmental functions. Today's Government House was restored and enlarged in 1935-1937 by the U.S. Treasury . . . — — Map (db m127484) HM
Designed by New York architecture firm Carrere and Hastings in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style, the building is an example of Henry Flagler's influence on the built environment of St. Augustine. Furthermore, the poured concrete construction . . . — — Map (db m112511) HM
Grace United Methodist Church is a reminder of the tremendous physical impact Henry M. Flagler had on St. Augustine. This complex of structures resulted from a compromise between Flagler and the congregation of Olivet Church. That group of northern . . . — — Map (db m47060) HM
Guarding the Back Door (English)
The Spanish built the Castillo de San Marcos along the winding, shallow channel of the Matanzas River. Any ships entering the inlet faced the fort head on, unable to deploy their guns broadside. The . . . — — Map (db m127749) HM
In 1876, tycoon Henry Flagler took his ailing wife to St. Augustine to get her away from Cleveland's cold winters. Although he was delighted by the magnificent orange groves, lodging was primitive, and the pace was too leisurely for his taste. . . . — — Map (db m134493) HM
Mission Nombre de Dios featured a stone chapel of La Leche as early as 1702. That chapel was damaged and subsequently dismantled, rebuilt, and destroyed in 1728. Another reconstruction was undertaken in 1875 by Bishop Augustin Verot that was . . . — — Map (db m111215) HM
Before Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, this land was owned by Spain. In 1807 parcels of land to the north of the city gate were granted to residents interested in farming. However, as a defense measure, Governor Enrique White set out a . . . — — Map (db m46704) HM
The fort was a prison for several hundred Plains Indians in 1875-78 (Comanche, Kiowa, Arapahoes, and Cheyenne) and in 1886-87 (Chiricahua Apaches). Originally confined in these casemates, they were soon moved to the terreplein to live in wooden . . . — — Map (db m46535) HM
(English)Invincible?
After marching through miles of wilderness, the Castillo is within sight, seemingly close. But can it be taken? A treacherous obstacle course of rising slopes (glacis), low walls (covered way), and a . . . — — Map (db m127742) HM
It Begins (English)
After days of watching the British prepare, bursts of smoke signal their attack from Anastasia Island. The sentry in the San Carlos watchtower in front of you yells and rings the bell. His quick action alerts the . . . — — Map (db m127744) HM
In 1877, the governor of Florida instituted a convict leasing program to make money for the state. The program required road crews to be moved and housed. Mule pulled jail wagons provided both secure, though miserable, housing and transport. . . . — — Map (db m134489) HM
The Home "House of shell stone of Juan de Rib(v)era" (casa de piedra) - was built to replace a home within musket range of Castillo de San Marcos (750 feet) that was burned in 1702 to deprive English troops of protection for . . . — — Map (db m212640) HM
Juan Ponce was born in 1460 in the village of San Cervas in the province of Campos in northern Spain. Historians agree on the place but not the date. Some claim it to be 1470, one believes it was 1474. He was trained as a soldier and fought against . . . — — Map (db m188796) HM
The
Discoverer of
Florida
Juan Ponce de Leon
landed near
this spot
1513 Reverse:Presented to the City of St. Augustine by Andrew Anderson, M.D. 1923 — — Map (db m19432) HM
Born in Spain 1460 Governor of “San Juan”, now Puerto Rico, 1509-1511 ——————He made the first recorded sea voyage to what is now the United States of North America, making his first landing in the vicinity of Saint Augustine, first permanent . . . — — Map (db m188600) HM
Bronze statue of Ponce de Leon, who discovered Florida and landed near this spot in 1513. Dr. Andrew Anderson presented the sculpture to the city of St. Augustine in 1923. This is a replica of the statue located near the explorer’s grave in San . . . — — Map (db m153804) HM
The Man Five hundred years ago, a fleet of three small Spanish ships sighted the east coast of Florida on the 27th of March, 1513. They sailed along the coast to the north for a number of days and finally landed on the 3rd of April, naming this . . . — — Map (db m188602) HM
The Conquering of Española Beginning in March 1494, Columbus sent hundreds of soldiers into the gold-bearing region of the interior of Espanola to build and hold a fort called Santo Tomás. Given Ponce de León’s military experience, he was . . . — — Map (db m188604) HM
Beimeni: A New Land to the Northwest Indian Slaves on Española were dying off; the Spaniards needed this free labor force and raided the Lucayan Islands (the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands) for more Taino Indian slaves. Between 1509 and . . . — — Map (db m188606) HM
After the 1513 La Florida Voyage When Ponce de León returned from his Florida expedition to Puerto Rico he found his settlement of Caparra in ruins. In his absence the Carib, a bellicose neighboring Indian tribe, and the Taino Indians had . . . — — Map (db m188607) HM
In the 1600s, Spanish Florida's Royal Road connected St. Augustine with the missions of North Florida.
From the time St. Augustine was established in 1565, Spanish military and religious authorities began extending their reach beyond the town . . . — — Map (db m101066) HM
What has Archaeology Taught Us? This map details some of the Timucuan structures that have been discovered over the years. They include large circular structures (in red), and a large shell midden that was built up over years of . . . — — Map (db m188867) HM
Surrounding defenses made St. Augustine a walled town. From here you can see a reconstructed part of the Cubo Line, the log wall which barred the land approach. It extended from the fort, past the City Gate, to the San Sebastián River. — — Map (db m46509) HM
The small pocket park in the block just south of here is dedicated to the memory of the Menorcan families native to Menorca, an island off the eastern coast of Spain.
The Menorcans who immigrated to Florida were indentured laborers of an indigo . . . — — Map (db m198315) HM
"Los Floridanos" referred to the children born to the Spanish settlers of St. Augustine during the First Spanish Period (1565-1763). Translated it means "The Floridians" and record of this title can be found in many Spanish Government documents, . . . — — Map (db m220566) HM
Sculptured in Florence, Italy, this reproduction of Michelangelo’s famous “David” is one of only two copies in the world carved to the exact specifications as the original — 17' high and weighing 10 tons — and from one solid . . . — — Map (db m166172) HM
On this shore in 1586, Sir Francis Drake burned San Agustín and a new wooden fort called San Juan. In 1668, John Davis, an English corsair, sacked the town and almost captured its wooden fort. Many other pirates, seeking Spanish treasure ships, were . . . — — Map (db m46202) HM
Changes to the Timucuan Culture After the establishment of St. Augustine, the Timucuan town of Seloy was renamed Nombre de Dios. The people who lived there were in closer contact with Europeans than any other Native American group in . . . — — Map (db m188801) HM
In this vicinity, on September 8, 1565, having arrived with Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and Spanish citizens, Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales led the first parish mass in what is now the United States of America. At a makeshift rustic . . . — — Map (db m80699) HM
On this site, September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed with a band of settlers to found St. Augustine, first permanent Christian settlement in the United States. Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, Spanish diocesan Priest, offered . . . — — Map (db m47569) HM
Early Spanish colonists settled in this area in the 1700s and used it for small-scale farming. By 1720, in order to improve St. Augustine's defenses, settlers built the Rosario and Cubo defense lines though the area. By 1737, a Franciscan mission . . . — — Map (db m136032) HM
These steps were salvaged
when the
Monson Motel
was demolished
in 2003 and
remain in tribute to
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
who was arrested here
in 1964. — — Map (db m153879) HM
Remembered fondly for his ministry as director of Mission Nombre de Dios, Msgr. Harold Jordan was born and raised in Jacksonville, Fla. He was ordained on May 26, 1949, at St Paul Catholic Church in Jacksonville. After post-graduate studies in . . . — — Map (db m220418) HM
Multi-Use Moat (English)
It smells and sounds like a farmyard. Mooing cows, ducking chickens, and snorting pigs are penned in the moat.
The 1702 British siege made staying in town dangerous. Townspeople moved into the fort for . . . — — Map (db m127746) HM
English: Here on September 8, 1565, 55 years before the pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the town of St. Augustine and Nombre de Dios mission. On the same date, Fr. Francisco Lopez de Mendoza . . . — — Map (db m146502) HM
This site has been called “America’s most sacred acre.” Tradition holds that the first Mass in the new colony was celebrated here.
By 1615 a chapel was erected to house the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche. A mission church large enough . . . — — Map (db m146538) HM
Built c. 1798 by Sebastian Oliveros, a Corsican mariner and trader. This historic house was reconstructed by L.C. Ringhaver in 1965. — — Map (db m102362) HM
In 1840, an acting troupe visiting St. Augustine fell victim to a Seminole attack.
A theatrical troupe and other travelers making their way by stagecoach to St. Augustine, was ambushed on the Picolata Road by Seminole chief Coacoochee "Wild Cat" . . . — — Map (db m134494) HM
St. Augustine High and Grade School opened in October 1910, with an enrollment of more than 400 students in grades 1-12. The new public school, billed locally as "the finest in Florida," was the inspiration of W.S.M. Pinkham, Mayor of St. Augustine . . . — — Map (db m93383) HM
The present chapel is the fourth building on this foundation. Erected first by 1615 this Shrine of Our Lady fell victim three times—to war, pirates and storms. The last reconstruction began in 1918.
The devotion to Our Lady of La Leche . . . — — Map (db m111216) HM
On September 8, 1565, Saint Augustine, Florida was founded on this site by Pedro Menéndez de Aviles. With him were 500 soldiers, 200 sailors, and 100 colonists. These colonists included stonecutters, carpenters, farriers, blacksmiths, clerks, . . . — — Map (db m188699) HM
Three major phases of town growth are depicted in this house. The first phase is represented in the first floor's L-shaped plan of coquina during the First Spanish Period, the second is an eastern wing built in the British Period, and the final is . . . — — Map (db m102382) HM
Before the construction of the Castillo, the people of St. Augustine were periodically raided by pirates. Since the town was never prosperous anyway, the loss of what little there was meant hard times and near starvation for all. — — Map (db m46200) HM
The oldest public space in America, the plaza was laid out by Spanish Royal Ordinances in 1573. Its Constitution Monument may be the only remaining monument in the Western Hemisphere celebrating the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The Ordinances . . . — — Map (db m46801) HM
From the onset of the American Revolution in 1775, the British Crown Colony in East Florida was a Loyalist bastion. In its capital, St. Augustine, the British lodged as prisoners many American Patriots and their French allies. Most of these . . . — — Map (db m46802) HM
During the yellow fever epidemic of 1821, this half-acre plot was set aside as a public cemetery. Many Protestant pioneers to the new Florida Territory are buried here. Often such burials, made at public expense, went unmarked. The Presbyterian . . . — — Map (db m46703) HM
The first public market was established in this Plaza by Governor Mendez de Canzo in 1598. Here, for the first time a standard system of weights and measures was introduced in this country for the protection of the consumer. On this site a market . . . — — Map (db m46816) HM
The well was used from 1823 to the early 1880's. The remnants lay buried and forgotten until city of St. Augustine public works employees discovered the well, with assistance from the St. Augustine Archaeological Association, while renovating the . . . — — Map (db m46811) HM
Reading the Cannon (English)
Every Spanish bronze cannon and mortar has its own story. Each was individually cast, so by examining the engraved lettering and scrollwork, you can discover its origins and the Castillo's ties to Spain. Read . . . — — Map (db m127747) HM
These low stone walls are the remnants of a building constructed during the First Spanish Period (1513-1763) from native rock known as coquina. The building belonged to Antonio Rodriquez Arsian, a soldier whose family lived in St. Augustine for . . . — — Map (db m100740) HM
This building was reconstructed on original coquina foundations. The size of the excavated foundations suggested that a two-story house stood here by the early 1700s. The 20th century builders of this reconstruction used colonial construction . . . — — Map (db m236948) HM
Robert L. Ripley was an internationally famous artist, writer, radio personality, movie maker, and world explorer.
Mr. Ripley visited over 200 countries, and during his travels amassed an eclectic collection of artifacts, curiosities and . . . — — Map (db m93169) HM
Fernando Rodriguez, sergeant in the Spanish Army at the Castillo de San Marcos Fort, built his house on this site during the first Spanish occupation (1565-1763). In 1760, he commissioned Juan Perez, Master Builder, to add the northeast coquina room . . . — — Map (db m102365) HM
This house is a significant example of the evolution of Spanish Colonial dwelling which began as a small, wooden, single-room Spanish domicile. An expanded ground floor built with coquina stone and a second wood floor with dormers was added prior to . . . — — Map (db m102366) HM
Below here lies a segment of the foundation for the Rosario Redoubt, an eight-foot tall masonry fortification constructed in 1762 along the Rosario Line, which formed a part of the colonial city defensive system. — — Map (db m70533) HM
This rustic altar calls to mind the Mass of Thanksgiving offered here by Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, Diocesan Priest and the Fleet Chaplain, on September 8, 1565, the day the City of St. Augustine was founded. Gathered about the . . . — — Map (db m146507) HM
After Great Britain returned Florida to Spain in 1784, artillery Captain Pedro José Salcedo arrived from Havana to serve at the Castillo de San Marcos. In 1784 Salcedo bought this property with a two-story coquina house, which had replaced an . . . — — Map (db m237106) HM
This reconstruction was built on original foundations, which date from the middle of the 1700s, when the house belonged to Pedro de Florencia. During the British Period (1763-1784) the property was held in trust by Jesse Fish, an agent for the sale . . . — — Map (db m236969) HM
This area in the heart of Lincolnville was associated with black education for nearly a century. This lot was the site of the Presbyterian Parochial and Industrial School, headed by Rev. James H. Cooper. It was demolished in 1940 and the grounds . . . — — Map (db m40701) HM
Constructed before 1885, this is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Lincolnville, an historic neighborhood founded by freed slaves after the Civil War.
It was home to two generations of the Moran family. Horace Moran was the chef at the . . . — — Map (db m21194) HM
This house was built between 1904 and 1910 on what was then called Central Avenue. The name was changed in 1986. There are many streets in America named to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but this one is special because he actually walked on it . . . — — Map (db m17915) HM
This was the home of Oscar Turner (1898-1987) and his wife Mabel (1903-1978). Their daughter, Mattie, married educator and coach A. Malcolm Jones, the principal of Richard J. Murray High School, for whom the recreational field at the nearby Willie . . . — — Map (db m40698) HM
This house was built in the 1920s and purchased a decade later by Jutson Ayers, who worked as an alligator wrestler for a quarter of a century at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm before his death in 1958. His widow, Mrs. Rena Ayers, gave important . . . — — Map (db m17914) HM
