Saint Augustine Tour & Transfer Co.

11/23/2024

Kingsley Plantation

10/05/2024

October 19

09/18/2024

Don't Miss Out!

09/18/2024

07/05/2024

A New American Riviera: Henry Flagler and the Making of Modern FloridaThe Hague School denotes a group of artists that lived and worked in The Hague, Netherlands, during the 1870s and 1880s. This vibrant city and its picturesque surroundings provided the venues and subjects for the artists’ painti...

06/24/2024

05/11/2024

It's 1900 and "the season" is gearing up. A newspaper article of the time said, "The demand for modern cottages has exceeded the supply, and a large addition to the permanent winter cottage colony has been made. J. Edward Addicks, the Boston millionaire, will occupy the large Anderson cottage with his family. He will keep his steam yacht, Now Then, here during the winter. G. W. Folsom and family of Lenox, will return to the Carr cottage, and Mason Young and family have leased the Ammidown villa for another winter. Franklin W. Smith and family, of Boston, will take possession of the Moorish "Villa Zorayda" some time in January."

The picture is of the Carr Cottage at 46 Avenida Menendez, which is now a restaurant. In their blog they share this information below.

History of 46 Avenida Menendez
Originally built of tabby (a type of concrete made from burnt oyster shells, water, sand, and ash) during the first Spanish period, this private residence was owned by Señorita Juana Navarro. Juana later married Señor Salvador Francisco de Porras and together had 9 children, one of them named Catalina.

In 1764, at just 11 years old, Catalina and her family were forced to evacuate from their treasured home at 46 Avenida Menendez to Cuba when Florida became an English Colony after nearly 200 years of Spanish rule. British soldiers moved into vacated homes and the de Porras house was claimed by Walton & Company of New York. Twenty years later, in 1784, the British were forced out when East Florida returned to Spanish rule. Catalina and her new husband, along with her now widowed mother, returned from Cuba to claim the estate that was rightfully theirs. The once grand homes of St. Augustine were in such neglect and disrepair that the governor was planning to auction them off or have them demolished. Fortunately for Catalina and her family, after much persistence and intervention, they were able to save their family home from utter ruin.

The beautiful bayfront home burnt to ashes in 1887 with much of the city’s other buildings along Avenida Menendez and the plaza. It was immediately rebuilt to its original beauty (this time with poured concrete instead of tabby) by Buroughs E. Carr, who started a general store next to the home using sketches done in 1840.

W.I. Drysdale, famous for the St. Augustine alligator farm and descendant of John Drysdale, lived at 46 Avenida Menendez until 1976 when he sold the family home to Puerta Verde Restaurant. Later, the building became Chart House Restaurant, then Catalina’s Garden (named after Catalina de Porras), and as of the late 90’s, Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, which still stands today.
(No citations were given for this blog entry by Harry's.)

05/11/2024

Thursday, May 9 Schedule
St. Augustine History Festival

✨SPECIAL EVENTS✨

🗝️Peña-Peck House
11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.: Speakers Dr. Darien Andreu and Paul Weaver

🗝️City of St. Augustine
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Speaker historian Román A. Álvarez from Aviles, Spain

🗝️Flagler College Garden Tour
3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Dr. Timothy Johnson leads a special tour of the gardens

🗝️National Shrine of Our Lady of la Leche
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.: Speaker Dr. Denise Bossy - Indigenous Women and Networks

✨PARTICIPATING SITES✨

🗝️Colonial Quarter
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️Alligator Farm
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️Villa Zorayda
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Special Photo Exhibit

🗝️Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
✨3:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.:
Talk by historical figure Luella Day MacConnell (reenactment)
✨9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Native American Workshop - totem carving & hide preparation

🗝️Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: St. Augustine Art Exhibit

🗝️St. Augustine Historical Society
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Gilded Age Exhibit

🗝️Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Daily Tours

🗝️Castillo de San Marco 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️Spanish Military Hospital 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️Ximenez-Fatio House 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Dressing Louisa - A Lifetime of 19th-Century Fashion

✨HISTORIC HOUSES OF WORSHIP✨

🗝️First Congregation Sons of Israel
10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Sanctuary tours

🗝️Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
1:00 p.m.: Self-guided tours

🗝️St. Photios Orthodox Greek Shrine
11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Guided Tours, reservations required

🗝️National Shrine of Our Lady le Leche
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

🗝️St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Sanctuary tours

✨HISTORIC GARDENS✨

🗝️Father Miguel O’Reilly House 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (closed from 12:00-1:00 for lunch)

🗝️Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
3:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m.: Special Talk by historical figure Luella Day MacConnell (reenactment)

🗝️Nombre de Dios Historic Gardens
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Self-guided tours

🗝️Spanish Military Hospital
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Guided tours

🗝️Flagler College
3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Dr. Timothy Johnson leads a special tour

🗝️Peña-Peck House
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Regular tour hours

👉🏽The St. Augustine History Festival runs daily through Sunday, May 12. Find all events at staugustinehistoryfestival.com

05/08/2024

05/08/2024

🗝️The St. Augustine History Festival will take place May 8-12 in 25+ locations throughout St. Augustine, Florida!

The St. Augustine History Festival was created and conceived by UFHSA (University of Florida Historic St. Augustine, Inc.) for the purpose of generating excitement about the history of America’s oldest city. Our goal is to showcase every era of St. Augustine’s long and storied past through more than 30 events and historic venues listed below – from the city’s founding in 1565 to the most advanced technology available in 2024 to research and study every year in-between. 👉🏽SEE ALL EVENTS at www.staugustinehistoryfestival.com

PARTICIPATING PROPERTIES/VENUES
🗝Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
🗝️St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
🗝 National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios - Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine
🗝 City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program and Historic Preservation
🗝 Colonial Quarter
🗝 Flagler College, former Ponce de Leon Hotel
🗝 Florida National Guard Museum and St. Augustine National Cemetery
🗝 Fort Mose State Park and Museum - Fort Mose Historical Society
🗝 Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
🗝 Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum
🗝 Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center
🗝 Lightner Museum
🗝 The Woman's Exchange of St. Augustine - Peña-Peck House
🗝 Spanish Military Hospital Museum, St. Augustine Florida
🗝 Saint Augustine Historical Society - Oldest House Museum Complex
🗝 St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum
🗝 Ximenez-Fatio House Museum
🗝 Villa Zorayda Museum

CHURCHES
🗝️ Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
🗝️ First Congregation Sons of Israel
🗝️ St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church
🗝️ St. Cyprians Episcopal Church
🗝️ Ancient City Baptist Church
🗝️ Memorial Presbyterian Church
🗝️ National Shrine of Our Lady la Leche
🗝️ Trinity Parish
🗝️ St. Paul A.M.E. Church
🗝️ St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine

HISTORIC GARDENS
🗝️ Father Miguel O'Reilly House and Gardens
🗝️ Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
🗝️ Nombre de Dios Historic Grounds and Gardens
🗝️ Peña-Peck House Historic Gardens
🗝️ Spanish Military Hospital Apothecary Garden
🗝️ UF: Resilient Florida Natives and Landscape Design
🗝️ Ximenez-Fatio House Gardens

HISTORIC CEMETERIES
🗝️ First Congregation Sons of Israel Cemetery
🗝️ Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries
🗝️ St. Augustine National Cemetery
🗝️ Tolomato Cemetery

👉🏽MORE DETAILS
www.staugustinehistoryfestival.com

📸: Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

05/08/2024

FREE EVENT on Saturday, May 11 during the St. Augustine History Festival.

🗝️ No Longer Unknown
10:30 AM Saturday, May 11
📍St. Augustine National Cemetery, 104 Marine St, downtown St. Augustine, Florida

Amy Larner Giroux, from the University of Central Florida’s Center for Humanities & Digital Research, will give a guided tour about the Unknowns in this historic cemetery.

👉🏽 Find more events at staugustinehistoryfestival.com

03/21/2024

https://youtu.be/fUY5POMuVmM?si=t-fIuWkZdaGTSHa5

In this video, we take a look at what Florida was doing during the American War of Independence, and explain why it was that they remained loyal to the Briti...