Sims Silversmith Shop

Last updated
Sims Silversmith Shop
Sims Silversmith Shop.jpg
Sims Silversmith Shop, 2018
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location12 Cuna St
St. Augustine, Florida
Coordinates 29°54′54″N81°18′44″W / 29.91500°N 81.31222°W / 29.91500; -81.31222
Built1964 (1964)
Architectural style British Colonial
Part of St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District (ID70000847)

A reproduction of Sims Silversmith Shop, operated by the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, is located on the site that is now 12 Cuna Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The precise location of William Sims's 18th century original shop is unknown.

Contents

William Sims

William Sims was a silversmith from Scotland who operated a shop in the town of St. Augustine during the town's British Period (1763-1784). When he moved to St. Augustine he came with a wife, a son, and four enslaved people. It is possible that in Savannah, being a loyalist, he was convicted of treason and left the colony of Georgia approximately in 1774. [1]

History

The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board constructed the building in 1964 to be a typical shop built by Anglo-American refugees from the American Revolution in the 1780s. It is a wooden framed building consisting of a gable roof, wood floors, wood shingles, and a brick foundation.

One half of the reconstructed building was put on display as a silversmith's shop. During the era of the living history museum San Augustín Antiguo in the 1960s and the 1970s, the room was full of iron tools such as anvils and hammers. The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board furnished the museum space with modern reproductions as well, such as a set of dies for shaping silver wire, a work bench, and a bellows beside the fireplace where casting was done. [2]

Present day

Today the site of Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board's reproduced silversmith shop is a retail space occupied by Southern Lights Candle Company. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District</span> Historic district in Florida, United States

The St Augustine Town Plan Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District encompassing the colonial heart of the city. It substantially encompasses the street plan of the city as contained within the bounds of walls built between the 16th and early 19th centuries. The district is bounded by Cordova, Orange, and St. Francis Streets, and Matanzas Bay. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970, although its boundaries were not formally defined until 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ximenez-Fatio House</span> Historic house in Florida, United States

Ximenez-Fatio House Museum is one of the best-preserved and most authentic Second Spanish Period (1783-1821) residential buildings in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Military Hospital Museum</span> United States historic place

The Spanish Military Hospital Museum is located at 3 Aviles Street, St. Augustine, Florida. The museum covers the Second Spanish Period (1784-1821) medical practices. The museum is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm. Tours start on demand throughout the day and cover a surgical demonstration, apothecary demonstration, and tours of a medicinal herb garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government House (St. Augustine)</span> Old gubernatorial residence of Florida

Government House, also known as Governor's House, is located at 48 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida, adjacent to the Plaza de la Constitución. The building, constructed of coquina, served as the governor's official residence from c. 1710 during the First Spanish Period (1565–1763), throughout the British Period (1763–1784), and until 1812 in the Second Spanish Period (1784–1821). Governor Gonzalo Méndez de Canzo was the first governor to build his residence on the present Government House site in 1598.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliveros House</span> United States historic place

The Oliveros House is located at 59 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida. It was built of coquina during the Second Spanish Period in Florida (1565-1763). Today it is a reconstructed building, standing on original foundations which were unearthed during archaeological excavations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benet Store (St. Augustine)</span>

The Benet Store is located at 62 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wells Print Shop</span> United States historic place

The Wells Print Shop was located at 27 Cuna Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It operated as part of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board's 18th century museum village, San Agustín Antiguo, demonstrating the colonial printmaking process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Watson House</span> United States historic place

The William Watson House is located at 206 Charlotte Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a reconstructed property representing the architecture of St. Augustine's British Period (1763-1784).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board</span> Florida state agency (1959-1997)

The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) was a state agency in Florida that participated in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings in St. Augustine, Florida from 1959 to 1997. Created in 1959 by Governor LeRoy Collins, the agency acquired, restored, and preserved historic structures in St. Augustine until its abolishment by the State of Florida in June 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallegos House</span> U.S. Historic district contributing property

The Gallegos House is located at 21 St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a reconstructed property demonstrating a typical home of Florida's First Spanish Period (1565-1764).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blacksmith Shop (St. Augustine, Florida)</span> United States historic place

The Old Blacksmith Shop is located at 26 Charlotte Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a reconstruction of an outbuilding located on the site during the British possession of Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sánchez de Ortigosa House</span>

The Sánchez de Ortigosa House is located at 60 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida. It is a reconstruction of a home dating from the First Spanish Period (1565-1763) that stood on this site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrivas House</span>

The Arrivas House is located at 46 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida. It was the first completed restoration project of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB), and was named after early owner Don Raimundo de Arrivas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerveau House</span> Building in St. Augustine, Florida, US

The Cerveau House is located at 26 Cuna Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is an original house, constructed in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gómez House (St. Augustine)</span> United States historic place

The Gómez House, located at 27 St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida, is a reconstruction of a simple wooden house dating back to Florida’s First Spanish Period (1565-1763).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Mesa-Sánchez House</span>

The De Mesa-Sánchez House is located at 23 St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a restoration of a home dating back to East Florida's First Spanish Period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luciano de Herrera House</span> United States historic place

The Luciano de Herrera House is located at 58 Charlotte Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It is a reconstruction, depicting a house from St. Augustine's Second Spanish Period (1784-1821).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joaneda House (St. Augustine)</span>

The Joaneda House is located at 57 Treasury Street in St. Augustine, Florida. It was restored to be an example of a Second Spanish Period (1784-1821) residence. It is one of the oldest buildings in Florida.

William Lee Sims, II was an American businessman, farmer, and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paredes-Dodge House</span>

The Paredes-Dodge House is located at 54 St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The one and a half story structure was built between 1803 and 1813, and is one of the only surviving colonial structures in St. Augustine.

References

  1. "Census Returns 1784-1814". East Florida Papers, from Manuscript Division of Library of Congress. Series 323A.
  2. Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (1971). Guide Book: Including Descriptions of the Buildings, Crafts, and a Brief History of the Restoration of the Nation's Oldest City. Tallahassee, Florida: Division of Cultural Affairs, Department of State, State of Florida. pp. 58–59.
  3. "Visit Southern Lights Candle Company | CandleSmith". www.candlesmith.com. Retrieved 2018-11-06.