"saint augustine" Top 5 Page for this destination Saint Augustine by doug48

Saint Augustine Travel Guide: 703 reviews and 1,914 photos

castillo de san marcos - Saint Augustine
castillo de san marcos
the nations oldest city

about 500 years after the vikings discovered the continent of north america the spaniard, don juan ponce de leon sighted the mainland of north america in 1513. he named the peninsula he saw la florida, (the land of flowers). he claimed this new discovery for the kingdom of spain. the french established a settlement and a fort on the st. johns river near present day jacksonville in 1564. king phillip II of spain named don pedro menendez de aviles to colonize florida and drive out the french and any pirates from spanish territory. on august 28 th 1565, the date of the feast of st. augustine, menendez arrived on the site of the present day city of st. augustine. he immediately started work on the town, a church, and defensive fortifications of this new settlement. he invaded and destroyed the french fort and settlement on the st. johns river and killed 250 french huguenots on the bank of the matanzas river.
incursions on the spanish control of florida and st. augustine did not end with the expulsion of the french. in 1586, the english corair, sir francis drake attacked and burned st. augustine. then in 1668 the pirate, john davis, sacked the town and killed sixty inhabitants. once the british had established settlements in the carolinas and georgia the spanish king authorized the building of the castillo de san marco to protect st. augustine from british invasion. the british under the leadership of general james oglethorpe twice tried to capture st. augustine without success.
in 1763 spain ceded florida to the british in order to regain the capitol of cuba. in the treaty of paris in 1783 florida was returned to the spanish.
finally in 1821 spain sold the florida territory to the united states of america.

oldest school house - Saint Augustine

oldest school house

today st. augustine is one of the most interesting and historic towns to visit in america. as a visitor you can see over four hundred years of history as well as enjoy good restaurants, a beautiful beach, and several interesting tourist attractions. check out my things to do pages for an overview of the attractions of this interesting city.

oldest house - Saint Augustine

oldest house

  • Last visit to Saint Augustine: Sep 2012
  • Intro Updated Oct 1, 2012
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Reviews (22)

vilano beach - Saint Augustine vilano beach Off The Beaten Path (3)

vilano beach is a small beach town located on USA1A about 4 miles north of st. augustine. vilano beach has a hampton inn... more travel advice

hampton inn - Saint Augustine on the beach Hotels (2)

the hampton inn is the newest and best hotel in vilano beach. the hampton inn is only four miles from the st. augustine... more travel advice

st. augustine beach - Saint Augustine st. augustine beach Things to Do (10)

st. augustine has a beautiful beach located on anastasia island just southeast of the historic district. at anastasia... more travel advice

old jail - Saint Augustine old jail and florida heritage museum Things to Do (10)

the st. augustine jail was built in 1891 and is one of the oldest jails in florida. for a fee you can tour the jail and... more travel advice

Comments (5)

  • Reply
    XenoHumph's Profile Photo
    Dec 27, 2009 at 12:24 PM

    Thanks for the tips!

  • Reply
    terible22's Profile Photo
    Oct 31, 2008 at 11:49 AM

    St. Augustine is such a nice place!

  • Reply
    Bwana_Brown's Profile Photo
    May 16, 2007 at 4:14 PM

    A nice overview of Saint Augustine's attractions along with beautiful pictures! I loved the Spanish architecture too and had a good look around both forts. The Casa Monica Hotel looks great but I think it is out of my league!

  • Reply
    Pawtuxet's Profile Photo
    May 5, 2007 at 2:48 PM

    St. Augustine is like an oasis in the midst of highways and vast open lands. I love driving into that town. It's really lovely and I'm so glad it's been protected.

  • Reply
    Mehmet1234's Profile Photo
    Apr 20, 2007 at 7:35 PM

    Hello Doug how are you? Thanks for visiting the old city and loved your st augustine pictures. Nice job. Mehmet

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