Sunshine & Summertime

Tolomato was in use as a cemetery from the 18th century until 1884, when all of the old cemeteries in St. Augustine were closed and new cemeteries were established. It is the final resting place of approximately 1,000 St. Augustine residents, including many people important to the history of Florida and the United States. The cemetery is located on the site of what was once an early 18th century Franciscan  Indian Mission, Our Lady of Guadalupe of Tolomato. The Indian group was made up of Guale Indians from Georgia. Tolomato was the name of a place, potentially a river, where they lived before they came to St. Augustine during the 16th century after attacks from hostile tribes. They moved to the current site during attacks by British forces from South Carolina and Georgia that destroyed the Florida Missions in the 1700s. When the Minorcans arrived in 1777 after their rebellion in New Smyrna, they brought their priest, Fr. Camps with them. Patrick Tonyn, the British governor of St. ...

The Castillo de San Marcos was built by the Spanish to defend St. Augustine, Florida, and the Atlantic trade route. As with many things in the oldest continuously occupied city in the United States, it is the oldest masonry fortress in the continental US and preserves more than 450 years of cultural intersections. Located on the western shore of the Matanzas Bay, its construction was ordered by Governor Francisco de la Guerra y de la Vega after a 1668 raid of St. Augustine by English privateer Robert Searles that destroyed much of the city and damaged the existing wooden fort. It was designed by Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza, with construction beginning in 1672. Construction of the core of the fortress was finished in 1695, although the fort would undergo many changes, additions, and renovations over the centuries. The fort was a continuously occupied military installation for 251 years, though it changed hands between the Spanish, the British several times, and finally the United Stat...

 When people ask me where I think the best places in Florida are, St. Augustine is always at the top of my list. The city is filled with history, family friendly, pet friendly, and packed with award-winning museums and restaurants. The Ximenez-Fatio House, which managed a ranking of the number one museum in St. Augustine during the pandemic of 2020, is no exception. Don Andres Ximenez built the house and warehouse in 1798 for himself and his bride, Juana Pellicer Ximenez. Juana's father, Francisco Pellicer, led the Minorcans from New Smyrna to St. Augustine in 1777 at the invitation of British governor Colonel Patrick Tonyn. This is the same group of Minorcans I've previously mentioned who fled their captivity as slaves of Dr. Andrew Turnbull. Pellicer brought about 600 people to St. Augustine, and they settled at the north end of St. George Street near the City Gate. In his original plan for the location, Ximenez included a grocery store and storage room, tavern, and billiard ...

 A visit to one of the most haunted cities in the country wouldn't be complete without visiting its famed cemeteries. Established soon after Florida became a US territory, the Huguenot Cemetery is in a high traffic area of downtown St. Augustine, just outside the Visitor Center and across the street from the Old City Gate. It was first used for the interment of victims of the 1821 yellow fever epidemic, then for burial of members of the city's Protestant population. The burial traditions and funerary materials demonstrated at Huguenot, compared with the nearby Tolomato Cemetery (established by the Catholic Church in 1777), highlight both the differences and commonalities in funerary and religious practices and traditions of the two distinct groups residing in 19th century St. Augustine. The Huguenot Cemetery's primary significance is derived from the fact that it was the first cemetery in St. Augustine dedicated for Anglo-American civilians rather than preserved strictly fo...

 Dating back to the early 18th century the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse is located at the north end of St. George Street in St. Augustine, not far from the City Gate. None of the wooden structures built in the city before 1702 still stand, because the British burned Spanish St. Augustine to the ground that year. As a result, the earliest property records for the schoolhouse date to 1740. The original structure consisted of a one room, single story building with a detached kitchen, made of wood siding with a coquina chimney, where food was prepared for the family. Kitchens were commonly separate structures in those times, not only to keep the house cool during the hot summer months, but also to prevent any kitchen fires from spreading to the residential areas of the home. The exterior of the house was made of bald cypress and red cedar bound together by wood pins and iron spikes, all made by hand. In addition to the separate kitchen, there was a privy with a privacy wall and a well, al...

 The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Keeper's House serve as both a scenic attraction and a maritime museum. Still an active aid to navigation on the North Florida coast, the Lighthouse and Maritime Museum is a private, non-profit museum dedicated to its mission "to preserve, present, and keep alive the stories of the Nation's Oldest Port as symbolized by our working St. Augustine Lighthouse." Standing 165 feet above sea level, the Lighthouse overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Matanzas Bay from Anastasia Island. Visitors can climb the 219 steps to the top of the Lighthouse for an incredible view of the city of St. Augustine and the ocean. You'll have the opportunity to experience life at a Light Station through the exhibits at the Keeper's House, stroll through the grounds, check out the gift shop, or take a "Behind the Scenes" guided tour, included with admission. "Behind the Scenes" tours are offered on the hour from 11am to 3pm every day. It ...

 In 1878, oil magnate and industrialist Henry Flagler left New York with his ailing wife and headed to Jacksonville. On doctor's orders, they were advised to leave the climate of Manhattan for warmer, milder Florida so that Mary Flagler could try to recover from tuberculosis. Sadly, she didn't survive the trip. Shortly after her death, he remarried and moved about 35 miles further south to St. Augustine. He found the area beautiful and full of possibilities for tourism, but severely lacking in accommodations. He began making large real estate investments, including his flagship hotel, the Hotel Ponce de Leon (now Flagler College). The city jail at that time was not only an eyesore, but it was within view from one of Flagler's hotels. He knew that his rich guests wouldn't want to see the jail while they were vacationing, and that its presence outside their hotel room windows could diminish their experience in such a charming city. Furthermore, he feared that such an unpl...

Located at the north end of St. George Street, the Old City Gate still stands, a remnant of the past, a reminder of the turbulence the city has faced in the past. At one time, the gate was the only entrance into the city. In 1702, British Governor James Moore and his English forces attacked the city. The residents had advance notice and took refuge inside Castillo de San Marcos for safety. The British were unable to breach the walls of the fort, and both sides sent for reinforcements. The Spanish reinforcements from Havana arrived first, and Governor Moore was forced to retreat. However, before he left, he and his forces pillaged the city and burned it to the ground. Though the residents had survived the siege in the fort, and the city had been attacked in the past, the residents of St. Augustine saw this attack as "the straw that broke the camel's back." In 1704 construction was begun on the Cubo Line, an earthen and wood wall that ran from the Castillo to the San Sebast...