THE THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
Saint Augustine is the oldest (with occupants) European settlement in the 48-contiguous United States.
Spanish conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles, lands on the east coast of Florida circa 1565. He names the settlement “San Agustin” for the feast day of Saint Augustine.
WAIT! What about Ponce de Leon?
He did sail from Cuba in 1513 and was the first to record spotting the coast of Florida. Earlier slave traders were probably the first to land.
It is the second-oldest continuously European city in U.S. territory with inhabitants after 1521’s San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Spain claims everything for themselves, paying no attention to the tribes already living there.
Who Is In Charge?
For the next three hundred years, Florida will bounce back and forth between the Spanish and the British.
Cameos appearances will feature pirates, Greeks, Menorcans, runaway slaves, and French. And there are the first settlers. Natives who were living, for the most part, peacefully, for 11,000 years before Ponce’s cruise ship arrives.
Henry Flagler Stretches the State.
Until the early 1900s, most Floridians are still living within 50 miles of the Georgia border. To the south are cattle ranches and wilderness.
During an 1883 visit to Saint Augustine, Henry Flagler finds it to be very inviting. However getting there, and decent accommodations are problems.
He begins buying up regional railroads reaching south from Jacksonville. His first job is to move them all to a standard rail gauge.
He begins the construction of the 540 room Ponce De Leon and 300 room Alcazar Hotels in Saint Augustine.
By January of 1888, his up to date railroad and luxury hotels in St Augustine are up and running.
Civil Rights.
All is not sunshine in the sunshine state. Florida, like much of the south, are not good losers after the Civil War.
Their primary targets are African Americans, Jews, immigrants, homosexuals, and Catholics.
For more than sixty years, their candidates control a majority of the state’s seats in Congress. They base the number of positions on the total population, including the African Americans and women who cannot vote.
After World War I, Florida sees a rise in racial violence against blacks in the state, including Saint Augustine.
Surely by the end of WWII, covering one’s face, then rioting, looting, and lynching for justice is behind us.
Saint Augustine Post World War.
Almost a decade after the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, the St Augustine public schools are still not integrating.
African Americans are facing arrest eating at public lunch counters, and the Ku Klux Klan is escalating violence.
By 1964, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) sends its leader to help St. Augustine civil rights leader Robert Hayling.
His name is Martin Luther King, Jr.
Working from May until July, King, along with his staff, including Andrew Young, help Hayling organize peaceful protests.
King and Hayling, end up in jail. Saint Augustine is the only place in Florida where King goes to jail.
Flash Point.
June 11, 1964, a group of white and black protestors meets at the Monson Motor Lodge’s segregated pool.
The group enters the hotel’s swimming pool with the police following to arrest them. The Ku Klux Klan responds with violent attacks, and the media has a field day.
Events in St. Augustine finally push Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act.
Saint Augustine Today.
Circa 1958, a historic preservation program begins just before the 400th anniversary of St Augustine’s founding.
There are beaches, Alligator Farms, and the Golf Hall of Fame, but the Historic District is the draw.
Should-see in Saint Augustine.
This Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places, as are several structures within it.
Castillo de San Marcos.
The fort was actually outside the city walls. The continental United States’ oldest masonry fort has commanding views of the Matanzas River and the approach from the ocean.
It is the oldest structure in the city and a National Monument. Check for morning and afternoon cannon firings, usually in the summer.
Old City Gates.
The wall, Cubo Line, dates from after the burning of the wooden city in 1702. They rebuild the present gate and the Cubo line segment circa 1808.
St George Street.
St George is the most famous street as many of the historical sites are along here. You begin in the Colonial Quarter.
Oldest Wooden School House.
The third building on your right, walking from the city gate, is this cedar and Cypress structure from the 1700s. It is a Minorcan homestead that also doubles as a schoolhouse. Self-guiding tours are available.
The next two blocks of St. George St are my favorite as the exterior of the buildings gives you a real look at old Saint Augustine.
The downside, most of them are retail stores on the ground floor, so the interiors are nothing like their original. Look for historical markers on the front.
Colonial (Spanish) Quarter.
This area takes up much of the left side of the next block. The entrance to this open-air museum is at #29.
It includes the Casa de Triay and Casa de Gonzalez. The historical society does full restorations of these houses beginning in 1964. On the same foundations, they use as much of the original materials as they can.
Here you can see blacksmithing and musket firing. However, many of the structures are post-2000.
Salcedo House.
Across the street (right side) from the Colonial Quarter is where Alfonsa de Avero was living. She fled to Cuba with the signing of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. (British occupation.)
Captain Salcedo would purchase it when the Spanish return circa 1783. The total reconstruction was part of the 1962 excavation of the area.
Salcedo Kitchen.
Just beyond, and behind the Salcedo House, is the kitchen building. It was a separate building that the British would add sometime between 1763 and 1788. Today, it houses a bakery.
St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine.
Further on your left in the Avero House, is the first in America, national shrine of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
Here the survivors of the New Smyrna Colony found refuge after fleeing the settlement.
They rebuild the 1702 structure circa 1965, and it houses a small but impressive museum to the early Greek settlers. At the end of the museum is the beautiful Saint Photios Chapel.
Rodriquez-Avero-Sanchez House (#52).
Across the street from the Greek Shrine is this Spanish Colonial building, dating from pre-1761. The second floor dates from a later period.
It was not unusual for the British to top one-story Spanish stone homes with a wooden upper floor. You will see this several places in Saint Augustine. 
Rodriquez-Avero-Sanchez House.
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine.
The church construction dates from circa 1793, and it is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
The Christian congregation dates to circa 1565, making it the oldest group in the contiguous United States.
Sir Francis Drake (Protestant?) would burn the first wooden building to the ground in 1586. A quickly built church burns circa 1599. The Spanish church rebuilds for a third time, using quality lumber, in Saint Augustine’s wet climate.
The 1707 attack by British South Carolina colonists led by James Moore, ends in another heap of ashes.
When the British claim the area in 1763, there is no Spanish church. They do not build one.
When the Spanish return in 1784, there is a new pride in rebuilding the Spanish Saint Augustine.
Plaza de la Constitucion.
Across the street from the cathedral is the oldest public park in the United States, dating from 1573. Many of the original government and other municipal buildings would be on this square.
The current market structure dates from circa 1880, so it is not a slave market.
With an exchange in this area since the 1600s, the selling of slaves probably took place in this area.
The 1821 exchange of flags took place here when Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
Union Navy Officers would reclaim the city from the Confederates here in 1862.
Saint Augustine’s Governor’s House.
The current building houses a history museum, archive library, private event rooms, and an information office. The east wing, on the plaza, dates to 1710, while the rest of the building dates from a 1930s overhaul.
In previous lives, it began as the governor’s residence, was a colonial capital, post office, customs house, and courthouse.
Aviles Street.
Near the Southwest side of the plaza de la Constitucion is the beginning of Aviles Street. Look for the wooden sign over the street.
This passage is the oldest street in the nation. Therefore, you will find some of the oldest structures.
Spanish Military Hospital.
Sitting on the site of a medical facility from the first Spanish period, this museum will show you medical practices. A fully-guided tour offers a glimpse of “cutting edge” surgery techniques and equipment.
The Apothecary displays how they would use herbs in colonial times and how some lead to popular treatments today.
Hotel Alcazar – Lightner Museum.
Henry Flagler builds this hotel for wealthy tourists traveling to Florida for the winter on his railroad.
Opening in 1890, this hotel and Flagler’s Ponce de Leon are early examples of poured concrete buildings. At the time, the hotel had the world’s largest indoor swimming pool. Unfortunately, the hotel cannot survive the Depression and closes in 1932.
Circa 1947, publisher Otto Lightner purchases the building for a hobbies museum. After filling it with several collections, including his Victorian-era art, he gives it to the city.
The museum takes up many rooms of the spa facilities, including the Turkish bath, in addition to its three-story ballroom. The museum covers three floors and hosts an eclectic collection.
This listing on the National Register of Historic Places also serves as the Saint Augustine City Hall.
Ponce de Leon Hotel – Flagler College.
Henry Flagler’s crown jewel opens in 1888 in time to receive guests from his railroad arriving for the winter. It is one of the very few original properties remaining from his hotels. His choice to use flammable wood in the Florida tropical climate did not bid well for his other hotels.
Other firsts include being one of the first buildings in the U.S. with wiring for electricity.
The hotel would have its generators as the city could not provide the amount necessary. For this, Flagler would call on his friend Thomas Edison.
Flagler would hire staff to turn lights on as guests did not know how to, or were afraid.
After the war, Americans want to see the U.S., but not by train. Also, Palm Beach and Miami, Flagler’s success stories, are pulling tourists from Saint Augustine.
By 1967, the bejeweled palace can no longer support itself and closes. A year later, Flagler College, a new private liberal arts program, needs a home.
The buildings are part of a private university and therefore are not open to the public. You can stroll the grounds outside, and tours of the main building highlights are available.
I suggest pre-booking. The tour includes the main hall and the dining room with its 79 Tiffany stained-glass windows.
Grace United Methodist Church.
Henry Flagler builds this church for the citizens of Saint Augustine two blocks behind his hotel on Cordova St. Using the same designers and builders as his hotel, it compliments the new hotel.
It is not without strings. Flagler is replacing the wooden Olivet Methodist Church, which sits where he wants to build his Hotel Alcazar.
Outside of the Historic District.
González–Alvarez House.
With a history dating to circa 1723, this appears to be the oldest surviving house in Saint Augustine.
The property includes the Oldest House Museum, ornamental gardens, an exhibit gallery, and a museum gift shop.
Lincolnville Historic District.
Legally free men and women were able to lease land for $1.00 a year starting in 1866. The peninsula was home to two orange plantations. The initial inhabitants call the settlement Africa or Little Africa.
When they finally put in streets around 1878, it takes the name Lincolnville on city maps.
By 1991, the Lincolnville Historic District joins the National Register of Historic Places. It contains 548 historic buildings.
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
Documenting more than 450 years of African-American history in Saint Augustine is the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center. On Martin Luther King Avenue, it is in the former Excelsior school building, the city’s first black public high school.
This center is a great place to learn more about the history of Lincolnville.
If you are looking for a history of the Civil Rights movement in St Augustine, check out the Accord Civil Rights Museum nearby on Bridge Street.
Saint Augustine Summary.
Who knew this little city, hiding in northeast Florida, had so many offerings?
And this is only the tip of the iceberg.
It has many of the “oldest” this and that due to being the first continuous town in the U.S.
But it has a more recent history as well, making it an excellent stop for just about everyone.
And there is excellent cuisine reflecting the Spanish and the English periods.
There are beaches, pirate museums, and other “stuff” for the young and gullible.
The town also offers a distillery and nearby wine.
Once again, something for everyone.
Take a look at some of the orange links. See if you don’t need a trip to Saint Augustine.
See more about Saint Augustine.
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“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.
This was excellent! St. Augustine is a unique destination for a relaxed, traffic/parking free vacation. Have this excellent travel guide with you next time you go.
Thank you Thom for a wonderful revisit of this sweet and fascinating town!
Amineh
I am amazed by the rich history of St. Augustine. It does not get much press, but the richness of architecture alone is worth a visit. It’s role in the Civil Rights Movement was quite a surprise. The whole city is quiet and unassuming but offers the visitor an immersive trip through history. I certainly plan to return and soak up more of it’s ambiance.
It has been many years since I was last in St. Augustine, and I appreciate the review of the rich history of the city and its residents. I wish I had this travel guide the first time I was there – perhaps it’s time for a second visit!
So much history in St. Augustine. I learned so much. Now is on my list of “must visit” places.
I am currently reviewing a youth book set in St. Augustine, involving witches and the ghostly past of the city. Coincidence or . . . BOO!