Jacksonville is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonville consolidated in 1968. It was the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020.
St. Johns County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 273,425. The county seat and most populous incorporated city is St. Augustine, although the nearby community, St. Johns, has a higher population. St. Johns County is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
St. Augustine is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County located 40 miles south of downtown Jacksonville. The city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in what is now the contiguous United States.
Edmund Kirby Smith was a Confederate States Army general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department from 1863 to 1865. Before the American Civil War, Smith served as an officer of the United States Army.
The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Matanzas River is a body of water in St. Johns and Flagler counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a narrow saltwater bar-bounded estuary sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by Anastasia Island. The river is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
The St. Augustine Light Station is a privately maintained aid to navigation and an active, working lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The current lighthouse stands at the north end of Anastasia Island and was built between 1871 and 1874. The tower is the second lighthouse tower in St. Augustine, the first being lit officially by the American territorial government in May 1824 as Florida's first lighthouse. However, both the Spanish and the British governments operated a major aid to navigation here including a series of wooden watch towers and beacons dating from 1565.
The González–Álvarez House, also known as The Oldest House, is a historic house museum at 14 St. Francis Street in St. Augustine, Florida. With a construction history dating to about 1723, it is believed to be the oldest surviving house in St. Augustine. It is also an important example of St. Augustine's Spanish colonial architectural style, with later modifications by English owners. It was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1970. The house is now owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society and is open for public tours as part of the Oldest House Museum Complex. Evidence can be seen of the Spanish, British, and American occupations of St. Augustine.
The O'Reilly House, known officially known as the Father Miguel O'Reilly House Museum, and also known as the House of Don Lorenzo de Leon, is a historic home in St. Augustine, Florida. It is located at 131 Aviles Street. On October 15, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
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.
Joseph Lee Smith was an American lawyer, military officer, judge, veteran of the War of 1812, and the father of Confederate States Army General E. Kirby Smith (1824–1893).
The St. Augustine movement was a part of the wider Civil Rights Movement, taking place in St. Augustine, Florida from 1963 to 1964. It was a major event in the city's long history and had a role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
St. Johns County Public Library System serves the surrounding areas of St. Johns County, Florida, including St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fruit Cove, and Hastings. The library system has six branches, two bookmobiles, and offers books-by-mail service. In addition to books, periodicals, and online databases, SJCPLS offers computer access, notary services, Inter-Library Loan service, access to a Seed Library, test proctoring, and many volunteer opportunities. The library system also offers a dynamic range of programming for adults, teens, and children.
Albert C. Manucy was an author, historian and a Fulbright Scholar who specialized in Spanish Colonial Florida and the architecture of St. Augustine, 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.
Alexander Hanson Darnes was the first African-American physician in Jacksonville, Florida, and the second in the state. Born into slavery in St. Augustine, Florida, as a young man he served as a valet to Edmund Kirby Smith, the son of his owner, Judge Joseph Lee Smith. Darnes accompanied Smith to Texas while he served in the United States Army. During the Civil War, Smith commanded as a Confederate general.
Frances Smith was a Confederate spy and the mother of General E. Kirby Smith. She is listed as a Great Floridian as part of the Great Floridians 2000 program.
St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the continental United States, was founded in 1565 by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The Spanish Crown issued an asiento to Menéndez, signed by King Philip II on March 20, 1565, granting him various titles, including that of adelantado of Florida, and expansive privileges to exploit the lands in the vast territory of Spanish Florida, called La Florida by the Spaniards. This contract directed Menéndez to explore the region's Atlantic coast and report on its features, with the object of finding a suitable location to establish a permanent colony from which the Spanish treasure fleet could be defended and Spain's claimed territories in North America protected against incursions by other European powers.
The St. Augustine Historical Society (SAHS) is a membership organization committed to the preservation and interpretation of historically significant structures, artifacts, and documentary materials related to St. Augustine, Florida. Formally organized on New Years Day 1883, SAHS is the oldest continuously operating museum and historical society in Florida. In 1899, the society purchased the Vedder Museum on Bay Street where it exhibited historical and scientific curiosities until losing its holdings in the Saint Augustine Fire of 1914. In 1920, SAHS successfully lobbied for federal restoration of Fort Matanzas, and in 1965, it played a significant role in the restoration of numerous historic sites in preparation for the St. Augustine quadricentennial.
The Segui-Kirby Smith House is a historic house at 12 Aviles Street in St. Augustine, Florida. Built in the late 1770s, it was the childhood home of Confederate States Army General Edmund Kirby Smith (1824–1893), the commanding general of the Trans-Mississippi Department from 1863 to 1865 and the chancellor of the University of Nashville from 1870 to 1875. It is owned and operated by the St. Augustine Historical Society and is home to the St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library.
