MORE THAN 460 YEARS TO OFFER
Long before the 13 English colonies in America and the founding of the United States of America 250 years ago, the East Coast of North America—and Florida in particular, on the Atlantic Ocean—was home to human activity. Based on current knowledge, this activity dates back more than 16,000 years in Florida and, in some cases, as far back as 40,000 years for the so-called “Paleo-Indians” who came from Asia via the Bering Strait, and less than 500 years for the European peoples who arrived from the east after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English would clash in a territorial and colonial conquest that would lay the sociopolitical foundations of America.
Home to the oldest continuously inhabited European colony in the U.S.
Today, as September brings slightly cooler temperatures and hurricane season is in full swing, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore more than just the region’s beaches and discover a city with over 460 years of history to offer.
St. Augustine, founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish settlers, is considered the oldest European colony established and continuously inhabited in what is now the United States of America, in a region that has always been inhabited by the Timucua, who at the time lived in small villages along the St. Johns River. The name “St. Augustine,” given by the expedition’s leader, Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, commemorates the feast day of St. Augustine on August 28—the date on which, eleven days earlier, his ships carrying settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted the coast of Florida.
St. Augustine in 2026: a city where the past and present blend together
“Historic Downtown” is the oldest part of the city, with many buildings dating back to the 1700s following the layout of streets that existed long before that. It is a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as are more than 20 historic sites, museums, and churches.
Strolling down St. George Street is like taking a walk through both the past and the present, as you can shop at all kinds of stores, dine at a restaurant, stop by a café, bar, or pastry shop to relax and listen to live music, as well as visit a museum or explore a historic landmark such as the old city gate dating back to 1808.
While St. George Street draws the bulk of the crowds, the quieter neighboring streets offer small galleries and boutiques, as well as private residences with hidden courtyards and surprises off the beaten path.
Also worth noting are the following sites that are well worth a visit: the Lightner Museum, now housed along with City Hall in the former Hotel Alcazar; the Ximenez-Fatio House; and Flagler College, now located in the former Ponce de León Hotel, where you can explore over 130 years of history, art, and architectural splendor; St. Augustine Light, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine with its Romanesque façade, Tolomato Cemetery and Huguenot Cemetery, the Old St. Johns County Jail, and the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
St. Augustine’s iconic Fort San Marcos
Between 1565 and 1668—when it was decided to build a fort out of “coquina” ” (a sedimentary limestone rock composed mainly of incompletely consolidated shells), nine wooden fortifications were built to protect the city from the indigenous Timucua people, pirates, and other colonial powers such as France (see below) and, later, England.
Today, thanks to the Bridge of Lions, it’s easy to get from downtown St. Augustine to the Castillo de San Marcos, located on the waterfront at 1 South Castillo Drive, St. Augustine. During tours, audiovisual presentations are offered several times a day, allowing visitors to explore exhibits that chronicle the fort’s various periods of occupation or the exhibit dedicated to military equipment. Visitors can also witness cannon and musket firings, which generally take place on Saturdays and Sundays—weather permitting and depending on the availability of volunteer staff—at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., as well as at 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. The fort is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Parking is available in front of the Castillo and on the surrounding streets.
The French Fort Caroline predated the Spanish Fort St. Augustine in 1565
Fort Caroline, whose memorial now stands on the banks of the St. Johns River in Duval County, was part of a French colonization effort in Carolina and Florida from 1562 to 1565, during the reign of Charles IX. It was founded under the leadership of René Goulaine de Laudonnière on June 22, 1564, to house Protestant Huguenot settlers recruited by Jean Ribault.
The French colony came into conflict with the Catholic Spaniards when they established themselves further south with the founding of Fort St. Augustine on September 8, 1565. Outnumbering and better armed than their opponents, the Spanish troops, under the command of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, attacked and sacked Fort La Caroline on September 20. Meanwhile, the French troops under the command of Jean Ribault, having set sail to attack Fort St. Augustine, were struck by misfortune and caught in a violent tropical storm that destroyed most of the French fleet and threw the men overboard.
Those who managed to reach the shore were massacred on September 20, 1565, by Spanish troops on the pretext that they were Protestant heretics.
Ultimately, the Spanish took control of Fort La Caroline and occupied it until 1569 under the name Fort San Mateo.
As a side note, the wreck of Ribault’s ship was discovered in 2016
Among the objects identified underwater in the shipwreck off the coast of Cape Canaveral were bronze cannons adorned with fleurs-de-lis and a marble column bearing the coat of arms of the Kingdom of France. These discoveries, made by the private underwater research company Global Marine Exploration, were confirmed by the federal court in Tallahassee in 2018, which also recognized France as the nation with ownership rights to the wreck. This discovery confirms the facts stated at the beginning of this text.
Sources: www.visitstaugustine.com/article – www.wikipedia.org
Translated by Deepl
Photo credit: Roman Eugeniusz @ commons.wikimedia.org
