St Augustine is a Great Walking Town

Friday December 1, 2023                                        Most Recent Posts:
Anastasia State Park                              Nights of Lights in Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine Florida                           Anastasia and Saint Augustine

FRIDAY DECEMBER 1, 2023

I began December getting up actually before dawn on what turned out to be a very long and exhausting day that I should have split into two except I hate to be a tourist on the week-end.  I walked from my riverside campsite over to the ocean and was early enough to see the distant pier south down the coast lit up in blue.

The lack of light made the shore bird look almost like a painting.  Color was just coming  into the sky.   I’ve found the best color is quite a bit before sunrise but I’ve never been able to pinpoint the optimal amount of time before.

The color continued to improve even as the upper clouds pushed darkly down.

The beach here is very wide. 

The sun had an extremely difficult time breaking through such a cloud cover but it was a beautiful morning to be out on the beach with only the birds.

By 10am I had found parking and embarked on  two more walking tours.  The day thankfully was warmer.  I want to warn you that this post is history heavy for two reasons. I find history very interesting and and the second walk is through the oldest section of the city.

First, the Plaza tour took me around the central plaza laid out in 1598 by Spanish decree of King Philip II of Spain.  He decreed that all colonial towns have a central plaza with principal streets leading from it.

The map below shows that the plaza is filled with statues and monuments.

This statue of Ponce de Leon, “discoverer of Florida”  was gifted to the city in 1923.  It is a replica of one in San Juan Puerto Rico where Ponce was the governor of that Spanish colony before he set out in 1513 on his explorations. 

My walking guide had pictures and descriptions of two civil war monuments which were no longer there.  I wonder if the brochure wasn’t reprinted after they were taken away because it would have had to be redone rather than just reprinted.   They are such nice guides that I’m really sorry they are no longer available.

There was also a monument to the new liberal Spanish constitution of 1812 and Tise Foot Soldiers Monument dedicated to those who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s in St Augustine.

All of the buildings around the plaza were also documented in the brochure and it was very interesting to read about them and their history and architecture but this post will be way too long given what’s coming up next.

So on I go……after lunch at Henry’s.

The building Henry’s is in was rebuilt around 1850.  The entrance to the restaurant is under the balcony.  The patio entrance is this lovely arched doorway with wooden doors.

Henry’s offers a New Orleans inspired fare.  Rather than have one main course for lunch I chose to have several of their sides and a salad with an eye to having lots of leftovers.  It worked out perfectly.  I chose red beans and rice, Harry’s collard greens, smashed potatoes and  the side salad was that entire plate with ranch dressing on the side.

Totally fortified and with seemingly endless leftovers, I set out for “Walking Tour #4, To The Oldest House.”  I had parked my car in the free parking lot offered by the oldest house and the historical society which owns it.  I had checked to see if I could park there all day since parking is SUCH AN ISSUE in Saint Augustine.  I can understand why with all the narrow streets in this very old town but the cost is unnecessarily high in my opinion for a town that supposedly caters to tourists.  I guess like all capitalism, they do because they can.

Henry’s is #12 on the Plaza Map above and is located on the corner of Treasury Street and Avenida Menendez which runs along the Matanzas River.  It is actually part of the Plaza Walking tour.

I left Henry’s and turned left to walk down Treasury Street.  It is the narrowest street in St Augustine they say and it actually has a stop sign at the end so I guess cars use it.  Not sure where I would go if a car came through. Up on that narrow rock edging I guess.

As you can see from this map of the Oldest House walking tour, there are 28 buildings labeled and described.  I’m only going to give a small sampling here.  There were several that were open for tours, some with free admission and I wish I had done this tour early in the day when I had both more time and more energy.  For sure I will do it on my next trip to St Augustine which may well be next winter.

Here are the few I’ve chosen to spotlight.  Several of them are on the 3 block long Aviles street which you can see above #3-8.

The Segul-Kirby-Smith house is #3 and has too long a name.  It is presently the research library of the St. Augustine Historical Society.  A very busy group I am sure.  It was built around 1800 by Bernardo Segui one of the many who came to St. Augustine from Minorca.  It was the birth place of an apparently famous, though not to me, civil war General Edmund Kirby-Smith, the last confederate general to surrender.  It was used as a public library from 1896 to 1987.  It is open to the public and I’m sure has a lot of interesting information.  It’s on my “next time” list.

The house was split with doors of off the walk through to the gardens.

In the garden was a very interesting pair of statues.  It is intended to tell the story of two residents of this house, Edmund Kirby Smith on the right who was born in the house in 1826 and Alexander H. Darnes, left, a slave of Smith’s born sometime around 1846.  I found the story so interesting I want to share it here.

Smith graduated from West Point, served in the Mexican War and with the Calvary in Texas.  In 1856 he chose Darnes as his personal servant.  When he resigned his position to join the Confederate army in 1861.  Darnes went with him. Near the end of the war, before Smith was the final general to surrender, he sent Darnes with his personal belongings to his wife and children in Virginia.

Darnes continued to serve Smith as a freedman until 1867 after which he attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania earning both Bachelors and Master’s degrees.  He attended Howard Medical School and became a physician in 1880.  He moved to Jacksonville and was the first black physician to practice in Florida.  When he died in 1894, he was praised for his work in the smallpox and yellow fever epidemics.  His obituary stated he was universally esteemed.

Smith became Chancellor of the University of Nashville and President of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company.  He was a professor of Mathematics at the University of the South until his death in 1893.

Darnes is represented with his medical bag and Smith in his University robes.  I was glad to learn the story of Darnes and  wonder if there is further information about him in the library.  (next time).

The statue seems  to portray them as friends and I wondered if that was true.

This is Aviles Street itself.  Only three blocks long but with 6 historic buildings on the tour, one of which is on the right, the Gaspar House which I’ll talk about later.  The street is quite narrow though not as much as Treasury.  There are spots a person could get out of a vehicle’s way and judging from the asphalt patches in the brick street, vehicles do traverse it. I was sorry to see the asphalt.  Seems the city would want to repair with the original materials in this historic area.  

The Solana House below built around 1800 by Don Manuel Solana, a Minorcan merchant, is further along Aviles Street.  It has both Spanish and English architecture, has recently been restored and is now a bed and breakfast.  It looks like a lovely place to stay and within walking distance of everything.  Of course I wondered where the guests park.  I have parking on the brain.

Further down the block is the O’Reilly house. 

Information on a plaque on the house indicates it dates from the First Spanish Period as evidenced by its interior Tabby walls which predate coquina.  It was later owned Father Michael O’Reilly who came to the parish when the Spanish returned to rule in 1784.  He willed the house to the Catholic Church in trust for religious purposes.  The sisters of St Joseph now own  the building which has been restored to its 1840’s appearance to interpret the life and significance of the Sisters of St Joseph whose mission was to educate the community’s African American children.

With the interesting information provided on the outside,  age of the house and Free Admission I decided to stop in until I saw the sign on the door that said Closed Until further notice.  I hope it will be open on my “return to” visit.

Remember my mention of the Gaspar House in a previous picture?  This is it from the other direction.  It was built out of coquina in the early 1800’s by Gaspar Papy also a Minorcan.  Currently it too is used by the Sisters of St. Joseph though I don’t know what for and it does not appear to be open so one could see the interior assumedly coquina walls.  The exterior has been plastered over as is common.  Nearly every two story dwelling seems to have a balcony.

I reached the end of Aviles Street, turned left on Bridge Street and followed it to the Avenida Menendez along the Matanzas River.   At the time of my brochure, this house was known as the Hopkins-Belnap Cottage from the 1880’s.  It was used as apartments.  Looks like it might have been a great place to live right on the river.  Today it has a different name, is clearly a waterfront hotel and apparently has been seen on TV according to their sign.  Who knew?  I just liked its look and waterfront location.

But even more I liked Wescott House also built in the 1880’s for Dr. John Westcott.  I’m a big fan of Victorian houses and  love its Victorian features.
It’s a B&B  now and is undoubtedly way out of my price range.  But take a look, the link is above.

Here’s the front porch water view and I’m sure the 2nd floor rooms are even better.

I’m nearing the end of my walk and approaching the Oldest House Museum.  when I walk by the Florida National Guard complex.  This is known as St. Francis Barracks and has coquina walls that were part of a Franciscan convent constructed on the site of an earlier wooden convent between 1724 and 1737 by missionaries sent to Florida to Christianize the Indians.  The convent was abandoned when Florida was ceded from the Spanish to the English in 1763 and the English converted it into a military barracks.  The Spanish kept its military use when they took Florida again.  Poor Florida passed back and forth so many times.

Just another block down St Francis Street and here I am at the Oldest House Museum complex for which I should have left a great deal more time.  Notice all the flags which have flown during this house’s existence.

The Gonzalez-Alvarez House, known as The Oldest House is one of the country’s most studied and best documented old houses.   Remember that I said oldest house was a misnomer in my previous post.  The fact is the the SITE of the oldest house has been continuously occupied by Europeans and Americans since the early 1600s.  So it beats the O’Reilly house by decades.

The early house of Palm thatching over a crude structure of logs and boards burned in 1702.  The hut was replaced with a structure of coquina stone and native shellstone found across the bay on Anastasia Island where I’m staying.  There are actually Spanish coquina quarries on the park grounds that can be visited.

This picture is of the Oldest House with its 2nd story addition.  The entry way to the museum and the house is in the brick alcove and next to it is the Tovar House which is also part of the complex.   See the map below.

Tomas Gonzalez y Hernandez an artilleryman at the Castillo de San Marcos was living here in 1727.   Forty years later when the British took over the house was owned by Seargent Major Joseph Pevett.  Ultimately his wife and second husband lost it at auction in 1790 to Geronimo Alvarez whose descendants occupied it for almost 100 years.  During the British period the second story was added to the house.  The St Augustine Historical Society acquired it in 1918 and presents it as a structure which tells of nearly 300 years of life in this city.

As the map shows, the complex has many aspects.  The museum contains a very well done history of the house and St. Augustine.  It is extremely interesting and well worth the time but I am not going to include it here except for my last picture.   Also on the map notice the Live Oak, the kitchen and the Tovar House each of which I will mention in turn.

In the courtyard which leads to the actual entrance to the Oldest House is the separate kitchen and a wonderfully fantastic Live Oak Tree.

That’s the kitchen on the left, the tree directly ahead, the oldest house on the right.

The rear of the Oldest House has the entry now.  I forgot to ask if that was the case during its earlier years.  I doubt it based on the doors on the street side.

I could not even begin to get a good picture of this entire magnificent tree.

What a great being to be keeping watch over the house there on the left.

Inside. the original section of the house contained some items typical of the Gonzalez family’s occupation from the 1720’s to 1763.  The charcoal brazier in the middle of the floor for heat and the board hanging from the ceiling. I was amazed to learn it was a rat board where food was put to keep it away from the rats.  If they tried to climb on it, it would swing and knock them off.   Against the wall is a typical bedroll with mosquito netting.

The bedroll rolled out obviously but I’m not sure how the mosquito netting was secured over it.   Boy have they come a long way in their accommodations in St Augustine.

In the upstairs area added to the original house by the British is a bedroom with furniture dating from 1820 to 1850.

 

And the dining room of the similar period.

This photograph shows just the tip of the Oldest House on the right and the entrance to the museum in the brick section and then the Tovar House with the very common exterior balcony.  Tovar house was built before 1764.  It too was originally built as a one story coquina building with the second story added during the British period.  It seems to house whatever museum the St. Augustine Historical Society wishes at the moment.  Today amazingly this exhibit is a detailed history of surfing in St Augustine.   Access is only through the museum complex.  No separate entrance.

It seems very odd to have all this information, clothing,  surfboards and audio visuals in a clearly very old house with coquina mantels and timbered walls.

Surfin’ Safari was playing on the screen to the right  as the background to some sort of documentary when I came in .  By this point I was too exhausted to really take in all that is clearly possible in this exhibit.

This was one of my favorite pictures is from the Oldest House museum.  An example of early 20th century travels to St Augustine.  I had no idea.

I’ll leave you where this post began with the sunrise and this very short video of the sun trying desperately to break through.  It’s the last sunrise I will see here at Anastasia State Park.

Next stop Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area in Flagler Beach Florida.