St. Augustine Historical Society

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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. [1]

Contents

The Society has been a primary force in the preservation and care of four historic Spanish colonial homes, including the González-Alvarez House (The Oldest House), the Tovar House, and the Fernandez-Llambias House—all on Saint Francis Street—as well as the Segui-Kirby Smith House on the corner of Aviles Street and Artillery Lane. [2] SAHS publishes El Escribano: The St. Augustine Journal of History, as well as the Society's newsletter the East Florida Gazette.

The Oldest House Museum

The González-Alvarez House is the oldest surviving Spanish colonial dwelling in St. Augustine, with evidence dating the site's occupancy from the 1600s, and the present house to the early 1700s. The house is located at 14 Saint Francis Street and exhibits both Spanish and British colonial architectural details and styles. [3] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The Oldest House Museum Complex includes the Tovar House, the Webb Museum, the Page L Edwards Gallery, an ornamental garden, and a museum store. First exhibited as a house museum in 1892, the building was acquired in 1918 by the Saint Augustine Historical Society. [4]

Research Library

The SAHS Research Library at the Segui-Kirby Smith House specializes in the history of St. Augustine, colonial East Florida, and Saint Johns County. The collection includes maps, photographs, vertical subject files, church records, circuit court cases, city government records, manuscript collections, circuit court records, and biographical files. It is a closed-stack library with a small reference collection in the main reading room, and is free to the public. [5] The two hundred and thirty-year-old building [6] was built as a private residence and was the birthplace of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith (1824). [7] It was given in trust to the St. Augustine Library Association in 1895, [8] and was a free public library until Saint Johns County erected a new facility in 1984. [9]

El Escribano

Since January 1955, El Escribano ("The Scribe") has been the annual publication of SAHS sent to members and libraries. The name is derived from the city's Spanish colonial history:

"In Spanish Saint Augustine, the Escribano, which freely translated means scribe or notary, was an important figure. One of the few in the frontier community who could write, he recorded events and testimony, and vouched for its accuracy. To him we owe much of what we know of early Saint Augustine, and it seems fitting, therefore, to name the newsletter of the Saint Augustine Historical Society in his honor." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Augustine, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

St. Augustine is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Menéndez de Avilés</span> Spanish explorer and governor

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys, which became known as the Spanish treasure fleet, and for founding St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. This was the first successful European settlement in La Florida and the most significant city in the region for nearly three centuries. St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited, European-established settlement in the continental United States. Menéndez de Avilés was the first governor of La Florida (1565–74). By his contract, or asiento, with Philip II, Menéndez was appointed adelantado and was responsible for implementing royal policies to build fortifications for the defense of conquered territories in La Florida and to establish Castilian governmental institutions in desirable areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avilés</span> City and municipality in Asturias, Spain

Avilés is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias.

<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.

Martín de Argüelles Jr. (1566–1630) was the first white child known to have been born in what is now the United States. His birthplace of St. Augustine, Florida is the oldest continuously occupied, European-founded city in the United States.

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

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.

<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.

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During most of the American Civil War the Florida city of St. Augustine was under Union control. Its Confederate history was exceedingly brief. One Union general and one Confederate general were natives of the Ancient City. Many officers on both sides had previous military experience in St. Augustine, particularly during the Second Seminole War. The city's historic Sea Wall was built in the 1830s, 1840s and 1850s by West Point engineers who went on to design military fortifications for both sides in the Civil War. Many black Union soldiers either came from St. Augustine, or settled there after the war, providing a leadership cadre for the community known as Lincolnville that was established in 1866. Many of the city's old cemeteries feature the distinctive marble tombstones marked "USCT" – United States Colored Troops.

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.

<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">Alexander Darnes</span> American physician

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.

Pedro Menéndez Márquez was a Spanish military officer, conquistador, and governor of Spanish Florida. He was a nephew of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who had been appointed adelantado of La Florida by King Philip II. Márquez was also related to Diego de Velasco, Hernando de Miranda, Gutierre de Miranda, Juan Menéndez Márquez, and Francisco Menéndez Márquez, all of whom served as governors of La Florida.

Pedro Benedit Horruytiner y Catalán was a Spanish soldier who served as interim co-governor of Spanish Florida between 1646 and 1648, and as governor between 1651 and 1654. When governor Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla was suspended from office in 1646, acting royal contador Horruytiner and Francisco Menendez Marquez served as co-governors until Salazar Vallecilla was returned to office in 1648.

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.

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

For the Oldest House Museum in Key West, Florida see Old Island Restoration Foundation

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.

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

The González-Jones House is a historic home built during the First Spanish Period (1565–1763) in Saint Augustine, Florida. It is located at 56 Marine Street, one block north of the González–Alvarez House and the Saint Francis Barracks. This neighborhood includes nine colonial structures that survive in clusters along Marine and Saint Francis Streets. These buildings are all assumed to have been built after 1702, when the city was destroyed during a British siege.

<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">Segui-Kirby Smith House</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Augustine Free Public Library</span>

The St. Augustine Free Public Library is the oldest library in Florida; opened in 1874 as a "subscription library." Located at 12 Aviles Street in St. Augustine, Florida, the building currently known as the Segui-Kirby Smith House still stands as a Research Library for the Saint Augustine Historical Society.

References

  1. ↑ Bowen, Beth Rogero (2012). St Augustine in the Roaring Twenties. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 127. ISBN   9780738591216.
  2. ↑ Bjorkman, Sue (Sep 16, 2014). "St Augustine history captivates Parker on and off the clock". The St Augustine Record. The St Augustine Record. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Gonzalez-Alvarez House--American Latino Heritage: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary". National Park Service.
  4. ↑ Adams, William R. (2009). St. Augustine and St. Johns County : a historical guide (1st ed.). Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press. p. 38. ISBN   9781561644322.
  5. ↑ Armstrong, Matt (28 March 2016). "Meet St Augustine Historical Research Librarian Bob Nawrocki". St Augustine Social. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Adams, William R. (2009). St. Augustine and St. Johns County : a historical guide (1st ed.). Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press. p. 36. ISBN   9781561644322.
  7. ↑ "Segui-Kirby Smith House". Civil War Trust. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Gil. "Segui-Smith House Old Free Public Library 5 AvilesSt. Augustine, Fl". History of Saint Augustine. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  9. ↑ Adams, William R. (2009). St. Augustine and St. Johns County : a historical guide (1st ed.). Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press. p. 36. ISBN   9781561644322.
  10. ↑ "Masthead". El Escribano. 47 (1). 2010.
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