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From Primedia Publications
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St. Augustine
By Sue Miller
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In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon waded ashore somewhere between the mouth of the St. Johns River and Cape Canaveral and claimed the land for Spain. He named it La Florida, meaning "Land of Flowers." Legend says he was seeking the Fountain of Youth, but in fact he was after gold and new lands. He found no gold, and there were plenty of inhabitants of this new land who did not welcome him. When Ponce de Leon made a second visit in 1521 to establish a colony, he received a fatal wound in a battle against the natives.
I began my search for the Fountain of Youth with a comfortable carriage ride around the historic district of St. Augustine, almost 500 years after the explorer first arrived. My guide pointed out sites of interest and provided background and sometimes delightfully scandalous information about them as well. There are many stories to tell. Founded by the Spanish in 1565—42 years before the English settled the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts—St. Augustine is the oldest permanent European settlement in the continental United States. As one shopkeeper pointed out, "St. Augustine was founded when Shakespeare was but a suckling babe."
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The city has 144 blocks of historic houses and buildings, many on the National Register of Historic Places, and blends nearly five centuries of Old and New World influences in its architecture. There are simple cottages built of coquina rock, a concrete made with burned shells mixed with sand and water. There are ancient brick lanes and magnificent structures capped by towers, turrets and red clay roofs. St. Augustine is also home to some of the oldest original structures and sites in the United States, including the Oldest House (1727), the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse (1804), the Oldest Store Museum (1836), and the Old Jail (1891). There's also the Mission of Nombre de Dios (1567), the site where a Catholic Indian mission helped introduce Christianity to the New World.
Between 1513 and 1563, Spain launched six expeditions to settle Florida, but all failed. After the French succeeded in starting a fort and colony on the St. Johns River in 1564, King Phillip II of Spain sent Pedro Menendez de Aviles in another attempt to establish a Spanish presence. Menendez's ships arrived off the coast of Florida on August 28, 1565, the Feast Day of St. Augustine of Hippo. Eleven days later, Menendez and 600 members of his expedition came ashore, banners flying and trumpets sounding, at the site of the Timucuan Indian village of Seloy. He hastily fortified the fledgling village and named it San Augustin (St. Augustine), then destroyed the French garrison on the St. Johns River and, with the help of a hurricane, the French fleet as well. Once the coast of Florida was firmly in Spanish hands, Menendez set to work building a town, establishing missions and exploring the land.
St. Augustine remained a focus for European conflict for years to come. In 1586, English corsair Sir Francis Drake attacked and burned the town. In 1668, pirate captain John Davis plundered it again and killed 60 inhabitants. After the British established colonies in Georgia and the Carolinas, assaults from the north became more frequent, and Spain authorized the building of a stone fort for protection. It took the Spanish 23 years to build the Castillo de San Marcos, and it proved formidable. Governor James Moore of Carolina attacked it in 1702, and General James Oglethorpe of Georgia did the same in 1740 and 1742. All three attempts failed, and to this day the fort has never fallen to enemy attack.
Sue Miller is the administrative associate for HistoricTraveler.com, Civil War Times and American History.
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