| On our way home from Orlando, a little more | | | | the Florida Keys, creating hotels and communities |
| than an hour into our 20+ hour road trip back to | | | | along the way. |
| Toronto, we stopped in St. Augustine, "the | | | | St. Augustine is centered around the Plaza de la |
| nation's oldest city", just north of Jacksonville - | | | | Constitucion, which anchors the Lightner Museum |
| indeed the oldest continuously occupied European | | | | City Hall, Casa Monica and Flagler College, three |
| settlement in the United States, having been | | | | stunningly beautiful structures. Located in the |
| founded by the Spanish in 1565. | | | | former Alcazar Hotel, the Lightner Museum |
| St. Augustin's founder, Don Pedro Menendez, | | | | houses collections of legendary hobbyist and |
| came ashore on September 8, 1565, and chose | | | | antiques collector Otis Lightner. |
| to name the settlement after the patron saint | | | | St. Augustine has a wealth of other historic and |
| whose feast day coincided with the day of landing. | | | | architecturally interesting structures. The most |
| Of course, before the Spanish ever set foot on | | | | historically significant structure in St. Augustine is |
| Florida soil, the Timacuan Indians had already been | | | | the Castillo de San Marcos, built by the Spanish |
| here and they watched Menendez and the roughly | | | | between 1672 and 1695. The 19th century |
| 1500 colonists and soldiers settle here. Over the | | | | Lighthouse Museum is located in the St. Augustine |
| last few centuries the city experienced | | | | Lighthouse on Anastasia Island east of town |
| governments from different countries, including | | | | across the Bridge of Lions. St. Augustine also |
| Spain, Britain, and since 1821, the United States. | | | | houses the oldest store in town dating to the turn |
| The real rise of this community came in the late | | | | of the last century. Talking about old buildings, St. |
| 1800s when Henry Flagler (1830 to 1913) built two | | | | Augustine is home to the Gonzalez-Alvarez |
| hotels and took over a third as part of the Flagler | | | | House, dating back to 1727, known as the "Oldest |
| hotel chain. Flagler was the co-founder of | | | | House Complex", a National Historic Landmark. |
| Standard Oil, and although not as well known as | | | | The Mission of Nombre de Dios is located on the |
| some of the other early magnates of capitalism, | | | | west bank of Matanzas Bay, and it is said to have |
| he was one of the wealthiest individuals of his | | | | been the site of the first Catholic Mass in what is |
| time. Flagler had a major impact on Florida: he | | | | today the United States. The Spanish Quarter |
| founded the Florida East Coast Railway as a | | | | Village is a living history museum composed of a |
| means of transporting guests to and from the | | | | collection of colonial period houses where guides |
| north to his hotels in St. Augustine, Palm Beach, | | | | recreate the dress and lifestyle as seen in 1740. |
| and Miami. A honeymoon visit to St. Augustine in | | | | Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth National |
| 1881 with his second wife inspired Flagler's vision | | | | Archaeological Park exhibits foundations and |
| to transform this sleepy town into a winter | | | | artifacts of the first St. Augustine mission and |
| playground for the rich. | | | | colony. It also houses the Landmark Spring, |
| Three of Flagler's former St. Augustine hotels are | | | | Explorers Globe and Navigators' Planetarium. St. |
| still in use today: Flagler College (the former Hotel | | | | Augustine also houses the Oldest Drug Store and |
| Ponce de Leon), the Lightner Building - St. | | | | the nation's Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, built |
| Augustine's City Hall (the former Alcazar) and | | | | more than 200 years ago while Florida was under |
| Casa Monica, redone as a county courthouse in | | | | Spain's rule. |
| the 1960s, and reopened in 1990 as the restored | | | | Unfortunately we did not have a chance to |
| Casa Monica Hotel. During the late 19th and early | | | | explore St. Augustine in detail, but our brief |
| 20th century Flagler also developed a residential | | | | excursion into this historic city quickly proved |
| neighbourhood called the Model Land Company | | | | what a unique destination St. Augustine really is. |
| tract. | | | | As a matter of fact, the city welcomes around 2 |
| Within a few short years Flagler's dream of a | | | | million visitors every year who come to discover |
| resort town for northerners faded and he, and | | | | a unique historic part of America. A settlement |
| the wealthy northern visitors, moved further | | | | with authentic Spanish roots, complete with |
| south. He continued to develop the Florida East | | | | Castillo and all, is a truly unique sight in the U.S. and |
| Coast Railroad down the peninsula, into and across | | | | it was definitely worth the detour. |