Saturday,
December 10, 2005
A Walk Through St. Augustine - The Oldest
Continuously Inhabited City in the United States
On our way home from Orlando,
a little more than an hour into our 20+ hour road trip back to Toronto,
we stopped in St. Augustine, "the nation's oldest city",
just north of Jacksonville - indeed the oldest continuously occupied
European settlement in the United States, having been founded by
the Spanish in 1565.
The authentic Spanish fortress dating back to the 1600s
St. Augustin's founder, Don Pedro Menendez, came ashore on September
8, 1565, and chose to name the settlement after the patron saint
whose feast day coincided with the day of landing. Of course, before
the Spanish ever set foot on Florida soil, the Timacuan Indians
had already been here and they watched Menendez and the roughly
1500 colonists and soldiers settle here. Over the last few centuries
the city experienced governments from different countries, including
Spain, Britain, and since 1821, the United States.
Flagler College, the former Hotel Ponce de Leon
The real rise of this community came in the late 1800s when Henry
Flagler (1830 to 1913) built two hotels and took over a third as
part of the Flagler hotel chain. Flagler was the co-founder of Standard
Oil, and although not as well known as some of the other early magnates
of capitalism, he was one of the wealthiest individuals of his time.
Flagler had a major impact on Florida: he founded the Florida East
Coast Railway as a means of transporting guests to and from the
north to his hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Miami. A honeymoon
visit to St. Augustine in 1881 with his second wife inspired Flagler's
vision to transform this sleepy town into a winter playground for
the rich.
Flagler College, a tribute to Henry Flagler
Three of Flagler's former St. Augustine hotels are still in use
today: Flagler College (the former Hotel Ponce de Leon), the Lightner
Building - St. Augustine's City Hall (the former Alcazar) and Casa
Monica, redone as a county courthouse in the 1960s, and reopened
in 1990 as the restored Casa Monica Hotel. During the late 19th
and early 20th century Flagler also developed a residential neighbourhood
called the Model Land Company tract.
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The beautiful courtyard of Flagler
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Within a few short years Flagler's dream of a resort town for northerners
faded and he, and the wealthy northern visitors, moved further south.
He continued to develop the Florida East Coast Railroad down the
peninsula, into and across the Florida Keys, creating hotels and
communities along the way.
Casa Monica
St. Augustine is centered around the Plaza de la Constitucion, which
anchors the Lightner Museum / City Hall, Casa Monica and Flagler
College, three stunningly beautiful structures. Located in the former
Alcazar Hotel, the Lightner Museum houses collections of legendary
hobbyist and antiques collector Otis Lightner.
City Hall / the Lightner Museum
St. Augustine has a wealth of other historic and architecturally
interesting structures. The most historically significant structure
in St. Augustine is the Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish
between 1672 and 1695. The 19th century Lighthouse Museum is located
in the St. Augustine Lighthouse on Anastasia Island east of town
across the Bridge of Lions. St. Augustine also houses the oldest
store in town dating to the turn of the last century. Talking about
old buildings, St. Augustine is home to the Gonzalez-Alvarez House,
dating back to 1727, known as the "Oldest House Complex",
a National Historic Landmark.
The Mission of Nombre de Dios is located on the west bank of Matanzas
Bay, and it is said to have been the site of the first Catholic
Mass in what is today the United States. The Spanish Quarter Village
is a living history museum composed of a collection of colonial
period houses where guides recreate the dress and lifestyle as seen
in 1740.
Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park
exhibits foundations and artifacts of the first St. Augustine mission
and colony. It also houses the Landmark Spring, Explorers Globe
and Navigators' Planetarium. St. Augustine also houses the Oldest
Drug Store and the nation's Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, built more
than 200 years ago while Florida was under Spain's rule.
Unfortunately we did not have a chance to explore St. Augustine
in detail, but our brief excursion into this historic city quickly
proved what a unique destination St. Augustine really is. As a matter
of fact, the city welcomes around 2 million visitors every year
who come to discover a unique historic part of America. A settlement
with authentic Spanish roots, complete with Castillo and all, is
a truly unique sight in the U.S. and it was definitely worth the
detour.
The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
Here is a collection of websites for further information on St.
Augustine:
- the City
of St. Augustine,
- the St. Augustine
Visitor Guide
- Visit
Florida's information page about St. Augustine
- the St.
Augustine Historical Society
- the City
of St. Augustine's Department of Heritage Tourism
Orlando and Central Florida travel stories:
Orlando Off the Beaten
Path
A visit to the Orange
County Regional History Center
Exploring Orlando's African
American Heritage at the Well's Built Museum
A lovely evening walk around downtown
Orlando's Lake Eola
Visual delights served
up on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour
A walking tour through quaint
historic Winter Park
Our high-speed adrenaline adventure
at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours
Our picnic lunch by the Kissimmee
waterfront
Exploring picturesque Mount Dora
on the "Herbie Express"
Orlando's Loch Haven Park:
Center of culture and arts
Exploring downtown Orlando's
historic neighbourhoods and parks
Learning about citrus at
Florida's Natural Visitor Center
Architectural and natural
beauty at the Bok Historic Sanctuary
Central Florida: a haven
for naturalists and plant lovers
Central Florida's wildlife:
surprising ecological diversity..
Driving home through St. Augustine:
the oldest city in the US
Articles on Golf in Central Florida:
A first-hand
look at ChampionsGate
A first-hand look at the
Royal St. Cloud Links
A first-hand look at Timacuan
Golf and Country Club
Attending the Father
Son Challenge at ChampionsGate
An overview of golf in the Orlando area:
Orlando- Golf's Ultimate Theme Park
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