From Fort Mose To The Civil Rights Motion: Tracing Black Historical past In St. Augustine

Look previous the Spanish fort, ornate Moorish buildings and most important plaza to find Black historical past in St. Augustine, Florida. Greater than 450 years in the past, the primary Africans in North America helped construct the ‘Historic Metropolis,’ a Spanish colony that predates the founding of the US. Along with spectacular structure, the tales of braveness, resilience and perseverance are steppingstones on a St. Augustine Black Historical past Tour.

We discover the area’s wealthy historical past chronologically reasonably than geographically. When you’ve realized about every website, you may map out the stroll from the compact historic space.

Florida Traces Its Black Historical past To Ponce De León

Our Black Historical past Tour, like Florida’s earliest European settlement, dates again to 1513. That’s when the Spanish Crown assigned Ponce de León, Christopher Columbus’ former navigator, to broaden routes for his or her treasure ships within the Americas.

Then the governor of Puerto Rico, Ponce de León and his skilled crew found what they thought was an island. They named it la Florida after the season, Pascua Florida, the Easter vacation.

León additionally found the Gulf Stream present which lower journey time by sea to Spain by a number of weeks.

1.    St. Augustine’s Black Historical past Begins At The Fountain Of Youth

Nevertheless, he didn’t discover gold or the alleged fountain of youth that Caribbean islanders spoke about. Ponce de León returned to la Florida in 1521 with, historians consider, 13 African sailors to assert the primary Spanish colony.

Let’s name the present-day Fountain of Youth Archeological Park St. Augustine’s earliest African historical past website. The 15-acre backyard subsequent to the Intracoastal Waterway your grandparents could recall is a well-liked vacationer spot. It presents some historical past reveals, the primary Christian burial websites of Native People courting to 1565, the stays of the Spanish Fort St. Johns of the Pines, and flocks of roaming peacocks.

Seize a paper cup so you may drink from their underground spring and go away extra refreshed than once you arrived.

2.   Mission Nombre De Dios Is Half Of St. Augustine’s Black Historical past

In 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés led 700 Spanish troopers and settlers, together with 50 free and enslaved Africans, to Florida. The Catholic clergymen who sailed with them named this protected little bit of shoreline after St. Augustine, the saint honored on the day they sighted land. Their Thanksgiving Mass was held at what turned America’s oldest Marian shrine, later referred to as Mission Nombre de Dios.

One other cease on the St. Augustine Black Historical past path, it’s a preferred vacationer attraction recognized for the sweetness and tranquility of the grounds.

3.   Menéndez Crew Consists of First St. Augustine African Residents

Historians observe that the Sixteenth-century Spanish conquistadors, devoutly Catholic, gave their enslaved employees alternatives to turn into equal within the eyes of God. In Spain, the enslaved had been usually prisoners of warfare of any race or ethnicity who had been paid a wage and allowed private freedoms resembling marriage.

Menéndez used his multi-ethnic crew to broaden the colony. They cleared the land to plant crops, constructed fortifications and a church. The rising St. Augustine was quickly a melting pot of Europeans, Africans and Timicua Indians who’d transformed to Catholicism. There is a wonderful show about this era of Florida historical past on the Fort Mose Guests Heart (cease  #9).

4.   Spain Points Name Of Freedom To The Enslaved

In 1619, the British introduced the primary slave ships from Africa to Jamestown, Virginia. Slavery turned the spine of their colonies’ economic system. The Spanish and the Catholic Church didn’t approve.

The Nationwide Park Service claims October, 1687 because the date the primary escaped slaves from the British colony of Carolina arrived in St. Augustine.

They had been put to work constructing the colony’s ninth fortification, the Castillo de San Marcos. It was the colony’s first all-stone fort, fabricated from the native shellrock known as coquina and lined in plaster. When a British official demanded the slaves’ return the next 12 months, the Spanish Governor Diego de Quiroga refused.

Fearing the British would broaden into Florida, in 1693, the Spanish king granted asylum to freedom seekers who would convert to Catholicism, be a part of the Spanish militia and pledge their allegiance to Spain.

Carlos II proclaimed: I’m “giving liberty to all… the boys in addition to the ladies… in order that by their instance and by my liberality others will do the identical.” King Carlos II’s proclamation was seemingly learn all through the colony.

5.   Castillo de San Marcos, One Of The Prime Black Historical past Websites In St. Augustine

By 1695, Castillo de San Marcos, our subsequent cease on the St. Augustine Black Historical past tour, was full. Permit a half day to tour this Nationwide Park Service website, the place rangers lead guided excursions. Descend from the entryway to see the outdated Guard Rooms and museum reveals that chronicle St. Augustine’s blended Spanish, Native American and African heritage.

Go to the ramparts to observe the cannons firing and perceive how this fort protected the fleet of Spanish treasure ships and shoreline.

The thick partitions of Castillo de San Marcos inform the story of the Africans who helped construct them in addition to the bravery of escaped slaves who fought to guard them. Phrase a few new and higher life in St. Augustine unfold north.

6.   Second Spanish Proclamation Attracts Extra Africans To Rising St. Augustine

A observe up royal decree in 1733 assured freedom to runaway slaves after 4 years of service to the Spanish crown. “Freedom” was a tempting proposition for 1000’s of enslaved plantation employees.

To guard the colony’s north border and supply secure housing, Governor Manuel de Montiano granted land to the brand new arrivals. They constructed Gracia Actual de Santa Teresa de Mose, on a small island within the marsh. It was referred to as Fort Mose (pronounced mo-ZAY). Established in 1738, it’s the first legally sanctioned settlement of freedom seekers and different Africans within the Americas. 

Fort Mose, a don’t miss cease in your St. Augustine Black Historical past Tour can also be thought of the earliest cease on the Underground Railroad.

7.   Expertise Black Heritage at Fort Mose, St. Augustine

Within the 1700s, the harmful journey south to St. Augustine took a number of months. Historians have discovered proof that Native American tribes who encountered freedom seekers assisted them throughout rivers and thru dense jungles. An estimated 100 runaway slaves survived and moved into what’s now Fort Mose Historic Park. They shaped 38 households of blended African, Spanish, Timicua and British backgrounds. Francisco Menéndez, a former slave turned extremely regarded fighter, led the Fort Mose militia to a number of victories towards the British.

When la Florida was ceded to Britain in 1763, after the Seven Years’ Struggle, Menéndez and lots of of St. Augustine’s African group relocated to the brand new Spanish colony of Cuba.

8. Encounter Black Historical past On Fort Mose’s Pathway To Freedom Trails

The 40-acre Fort Mose Park is open day by day. Permit just a few hours to soak up the story of the Fort Mose settlement and really feel its energy. Take the free Pathway to Freedom boardwalk for views of the marsh and the unique website of the wood Fort. It’s now removed from land within the marshes the place bird-watching is a favourite exercise.

One other wooded path lined with historic markers explains the historical past of the Fort. Cease at every to scan the barcode and watch video reenactments of what occurred on the website.

9.   Really feel Black Historical past Come Alive In St. Augustine At Fort Mose Museum

The Fort Mose Guests Heart costs a $2 admission (free for ages 6 and underneath) – effectively price it for the informative reveals in regards to the heroic African, Francisco Menéndez, and the fort. Stand on the ground pads in entrance of a number of shows to listen to voices of reenactors sharing their tales. The Guests Heart has accessibility instruments, a wheelchair and might prepare an indication language interpreter on request.

10.   Expertise The Energy Of Cannons And Militia At Fort Mose

The primary Saturday of each month, the Militia Muster fires their muskets in demonstration. From 9am-11:30am, they practice younger guests tips on how to use toy wood muskets. Fort Mose’s busy calendar of reenactments consists of occasions resembling Flight to Freedom (February), Founders Day (March), Battle of Bloody Mose (June) and the First Harvest (November.)

11. Fort Mose Live shows Emphasize St. Augustine’s Robust Black Roots

Each February, meals vans and garden chairs take over the clearing at Fort Mose for the Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Collection. The 2025 Fort Mose sequence included the legendary brass band Tower of Energy. Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, Frequent and the Jazz at Lincoln Heart Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis have additionally carried out within the historic area.

Seize a vodka with lemonade to get pleasure from any one of many many dwell music occasions on St. Augustine’s busy competition calendar.

A newly reconstructed reproduction Fort Mose is predicted to open in April 2025 after years of fund-raising. Fortuitously for guests, it’s situated nearer to the park’s entryway than the unique.

Step inside and share the cut up log partitions with different freedom seekers.

The bravery and resilience of St. Augustine’s authentic Black group comes by means of loud and clear.

13.   Tour Lincolnville: Black Historical past Landmarks In St. Augustine

Between 1800 and 1821, free Blacks in St. Augustine farmed citrus on Spanish land grants between Maria Sanchez Lake, the San Sebastian River and, to the southwest, the bustling downtown St. Augustine. In 1821, when the U.S. buy of Florida from the Spanish took impact, slavery was reintroduced. Plantation homeowners moved south, and Florida turned the twenty seventh state in 1845.

Plots of citrus groves ultimately turned the 140-acre zone of Lincolnville, one other important cease on the Black Historical past Path. Following the Civil Struggle in 1866, “Little Africa” was given to the newly emancipated folks of coloration in St. Augustine.

14.   Stand The place The Emancipation Proclamation Was Learn In 1865

One of many neighborhood’s most historic African American landmarks is on the grounds of the boutique lodge, The Collector, a Luxurious Inn and Gardens. In 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation was learn aloud on the square-block lot whose historic houses have been transformed into lodge rooms. Name forward to inquire in regards to the lodge’s free excursions, usually given Tuesday and Thursday morning.

15.   Discover Neighborhoods With App Of Black Historical past In St. Augustine

Stroll the neighborhood to grasp how Lincolnville survived a number of eras of Black American historical past. In the course of the interval of enforced segregation, African American residents constructed out their house within the prevailing Victorian type to make it one of the vital enticing and profitable neighborhoods. Use the St. Augustine Black Historical past app maps to find related church buildings, colleges and companies lining the streets.

Across the Nineteen Thirties, the neighborhood grew to embody adjoining streets of white residents and have become an essential a part of St. Augustine.

For the reason that pandemic, locals say the gentrification of Lincolnville has accelerated. Fortuitously, a lot historical past stays within the historic buildings transformed to Airbnb’s, trip leases and cafes.

16.   Lincolnville Museum & Cultural Heart Highlights St. Augustine Black Historical past

The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Heart illuminates the legacy of Africans who originated in West Africa, settled in Spain, or migrated to the world as freedom seekers from the North.

Lincolnville remained a largely Black neighborhood after the Civil Struggle. The Museum charts its progress.

In 1914, native businessman Frank B. Butler opened the Palace Market on Washington Avenue. As his enterprise grew, he made many contacts and received concerned in actual property. He offered land in Lincolnville to different Black residents saying, “Personal Your Personal Residence: Pay Lease to Your self and Present for the Future.”

17. Should-See African American Artifacts at Lincolnville Museum

The Lincolnville Museum is housed within the ca. 1925 Excelsior Excessive Faculty. For those who’re brief on time, examine the good-looking constructing itself. It was the primary college devoted to the free training of black teenagers within the area.

Head inside to admire the piano belonging to Ray Charles, who went to the Florida Faculty for the deaf and blind in St. Augustine. LMCC’s authentic Woolworth lunch counter, the place 4 teen women had been arrested for sitting in a segregated part, makes this one other must-see cease in your tour.

18.   Seaside Hop Over To Butler Seaside On Anastasia Island

By 1927, Butler was bored with the segregation that prevented his household from utilizing St. Augustine’s stunning seashores. He purchased some coastal shoreline on Anastasia Island between busy St. Augustine Seaside and the quieter Crescent Seaside. Butler expanded his stake to the Matanzas River and established the blacks-only Butler Seaside. It’s now a landmark on native highway A1A.

Whereas there, drop into the “Waves of Change” exhibit on the St. Johns County Ocean Pier Park. It marks the place Black St. Augustine activists staged “wade-ins” within the surf off white seashores. It’s additionally the spot for an ideal household day at a Florida seashore.

19. ACCORD Civil Rights Museum And Black Historical past Path In St. Augustine

Tensions persevered with native whites who didn’t need Black seashores and companies to unfold. Butler, nonetheless, constructed a motel, the Seabreeze Kaseno and personal houses at his Butler Seaside growth. Regardless of racial incidents and the expansion of the native Ku Klux Klan, Lincolnville was thriving.

The ACCORD Civil Rights Museum in Lincolnville reveals paperwork and movies about native Floridians who fought within the civil rights battle. Then there was James Brock, proprietor of the Monson Motor Lodge, who poured acid into his swimming pool to power Black and white activists out of the water. Many say the broadly seen pictures of his violent act contributed to the passage of the Civil Proper Act.

Look out for the 31 ACCORD Historic Markers that define these occasions in Lincolnville and different components of city.

20.   Black Legacy Attracts Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To St. Augustine

In 1964, St. Augustine was getting ready for its four-hundredth anniversary. This gave Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a chance to shine a light-weight on racial discrimination within the nation’s oldest metropolis. Native African People rented him a cottage at Butler’s Motel on Butler Seaside, which was shot up after his arrival.

The night time of June 9, 1964, Dr. King was arrested throughout a human rights protest.

21.   Plaza de la Constitución And Its Monumental Obelisk

In 1813, the 30-foot-tall Monumento a la Constitución was erected on the Plaza to commemorate 4 foundational values:  Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights and Compassion. To rejoice the town’s 450th anniversary, outstanding artists and native schoolchildren had been invited to the Obelisk Artwork 450 Mission. They had been requested to embellish replicas – starting from 4 ft to simply 8.5 ft tall – to honor those self same ideas. Lease bikes to go to the one on the Robert B. Hayling Freedom Park, named for an area activist. See what number of you could find within the metropolis.

22.   Rev. Andrew Younger Crossing Honors Civil Rights Historical past

Rev. Andrew Younger, marching with different civil rights activists, was crushed close to the central Plaza de la Constitución. As we speak’s households can stroll in his courageous brass footsteps on the sq., on the Black Historical past Path cease known as Andrew Younger Crossing.

23.   St. Augustine’s Well-known Outdated Slave Market

Permit time to discover the big Plaza de la Constitución, a sq. framed by the historic Governors Home and Cathedral. Search for the Outdated Slave Market, the title given to the open air pavilion the place items, produce and sure, folks, had been purchased and offered. It was a focus for protests by King and Younger.

In 2011, the town of St. Augustine constructed the bronze Foot Troopers Memorial on the southeast aspect of Plaza de la Constitución. As an alternative of the ache the Outdated Slave Market pavilion represents, it honors the lots of of activists who continued the Civil Rights battle.

And it honors these native and visiting foot troopers who proceed it nonetheless.

Plan Your Black Heritage Tour Of St. Augustine With Care

America’s oldest metropolis is a well-liked vacationer vacation spot for People of any race and lots of foreigners. It’s additionally a type of locations most households select to cease on a basic East Coast Street journey.

There’s a number of historical past to soak up – an excessive amount of most youngsters would say. Actually, there’s greater than we will describe in a St. Augustine Black Historical past Tour. We propose you contemplate everybody’s pursuits so you may choose which of the 24 stops you wish to make.  

Spend a minimal of three days for a St. Augustine Black Historical past Tour and some extra to understand the town’s different websites, lounge on the seashore, and revel in a ship experience.  The climate is temperate by Florida requirements, so go any time you may.

Finest Methods To Get Round St. Augustine, Florida

No have to lease a automobile in St. Augustine. For those who keep near the historic district, you’ll have the ability to stroll nearly in every single place on our St. Augustine Black Historical past tour.

Trolley: Alternatively, get oriented on a metropolis tour with the Outdated City Trolley. The 90-minute guided tour makes 22 stops. There are departures each quarter-hour so begin early to hop on and off at any cease to see extra. Or, keep on like we did to orient ourselves, then take a number of days to discover. 

Boat: Many households benefit from the boat excursions that run alongside the Intracoastal Waterway to focus on coastal points of interest. And let’s not ignore the offshore kayak and canoe excursions you may e-book.

Uber: To succeed in Fort Mose, take a cheap Uber or native taxi. Fast observe:  Whereas Ubers are plentiful, it may possibly take 20 minutes for one to reach, because of the vacationer site visitors on the town.

Historical past Making Locations To Keep In St. Augustine’s Historic District

Relating to historic resorts, you’ll hear point out of Henry Flagler, the railroad magnate who constructed grand resorts alongside the tracks for his passengers. Solely one in all his three very luxurious resorts nonetheless accepts visitors. That’s the previous Cordova Lodge, now Casa Monica, a Marriott Autograph Assortment lodge. Drop into the ornate foyer or cease by the bar for a take a look at just a few of the unique design particulars. 

Flagler’s actual masterpiece was the Lodge Ponce de León inbuilt 1888. As we speak, it’s the most important constructing of Flagler Faculty, and you may take one of many day by day excursions for a glance inside. The showy Spanish Renaissance Revival type, myriad artworks and Tiffany stained-glass home windows had been a part of the design by Carrère & Hastings.

The identical architects designed his subsequent undertaking, the Alcazar Lodge and, later, the New York Public Library. As we speak, the entrance a part of the ornate Alcazar is St. Augustine Metropolis Corridor and the again half is the Lightner Museum of Artwork. You’ll be able to see many authentic architectural parts within the museum — and dine within the corridor that when held the primary swimming pool.

We loved The Collector, a Luxurious Inn and Gardens in Lincolnville. (See our video right here.) A few of its historic houses have a number of double rooms, some are made into suites with kitchenettes. All have entry to a scorching breakfast, hearth pit, outside pool, exercise room and standard bar. Solely visitors ages 18 and older are welcome.

The New St. Augustine Fits Households

To accommodate the crowds, there are lots of of different St. Augustine resorts, motels and locations to remain in all value factors. And, for a city this measurement, there’s a stunning variety of excellent eating places.

Households benefit from the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront, a two-story lodge designed within the Spanish Colonial type. Try the brightly tiled reception space and fireside. This Hilton overlooks Matanzas Bay, is handy to the historic downtown and has a big outside pool and scorching tub.

The pink tile roof and towers of the Finest Western Historic Inn additionally evoke the bygone St. Augustine. Plus, it’s finances possibility only one.5 miles from the Castillo. Facilities embody free continental breakfast, an outside pool and scorching tub, giant household rooms with sofabeds, a fridge and coffeemaker in every room and a welcome signal for pets.  

Go Now As a result of St. Augustine By no means Grows Outdated

In 2024, plans to construct Florida’s Museum of Black Historical past in St. Augustine had been introduced. Whereas that dream continues to be within the early planning levels, the opening of the reproduction Fort Mose is about for April 2025. Now’s the right time to take a Black Historical past Tour of St. Augustine.

Whereas the African legacy could look like a slender view of America’s oldest metropolis, it’s yet another approach to study our previous and inform our future.

In spite of everything, in every single place you flip in St. Augustine, there’s a narrative of what was there earlier than.