St. Augustine

On Sept. 8. 1565, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles came ashore and named a stretch of land near the inlet in honor of Augustine, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on whose feast day - Aug. 28 - land was sighted. The location has been pinpointed in recent years by archaeologists from the University of Florida as being where the present-day Mission of Nombre de Dios and the Fountain of Youth stand, several blocks north of the City Gate and the Castillo de San Marcos.

The emphasis on "first European settlement" acknowledges that the Timucuan Indians were here first and observed Menendez and his party of about 1,500 soldiers and colonists. Since, the city has been under the governments of Spain, 1565 to 1763 and 1784-1821; Britain, 1763-1784, and United States, 1821-present. Florida became a state in 1845. It was part of the Confederacy from 1861-1862 when it returned to Union control.

St. Augustine in the late 1880s had its birth as a resort community with the arrival of Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler. He built two hotels and took over another to serve as the base of his Flagler System hotels. He founded the Florida East Coast Railway as a means of transporting guests to and from the north to his hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, and Miami.

Three of his former St. Augustine hotels are in use today as Flagler College (Hotel Ponce de Leon), Lightner Building/City Hall (Alcazar) and Casa Monica, redone as a county courthouse in the 1960's . Currently attempts are underway to revive this 1890's hotel to its fomer glory.

Flagler also developed a neighborhood of 19th and early 20th century homes, two blocks west of the Plaza called the Model Land Company tract.

The heart of the city is its downtown Plaza de la Constitucion with most of the historic buildings located within a block or two of the Plaza, to the north and to the south.

The Castillo de San Marcos, built of coquina by the Spanish in 1672, anchors the city's north end of the bayfront. The Bridge of Lions, built in 1927, links the downtown with Davis Shores, a residential community dating back to the 1920s and St. Augustine Beach.

Today's city has in excess of 12,000 residents. It is the county seat of St. Johns County which has 100,000-plus residents. Today St Augustine is bustling with activities where you will find an enormous selection of attractions, shopping and dining experiences.

Other advantages include:

• It is convenient to Jacksonville, Orlando and Daytona airports.
• Golf courses? World Golf Village and Ponte Vedra, home of The Players Championship, are a short 20 minute drive from St. Augustine's historic district.
• The St. Augustine Municipal Marina, Camachee Island Marina, Conch House Marina, Oyster Creek Marina, Sebastian Marina make boating access ultra convenient by sea, river or intercoastal waterway.
• Off-shore or in-shore fishing, diving and other water sports are abundantly accommodated in St. Augustine. The Ancient City Game Fishing Association is a family oriented group that hosts several annual tournaments. The Marlin Club is another St. Augustine fishing club that sponsors tournaments. Both clubs are environmentally conscious and cooperate with the Florida Fish and Game Commission.
• St. Augustine also boasts 43 miles of beaches. There's the right beach for everyone: some areas of the beaches permit vehicles while others allow only pedestrians. Some areas of the St. Augustine area beaches produce abundant shelling opportunities for the folks who love to reach down and pick up a little of the mystery of sea life or for those looking for that "message in a bottle".

From single strategic vantage points in St. Augustine, you can experience both the joy of the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean horizon and the peacefulness of the sun setting beyond the salt marsh along the intercoastal waterway.