This year marked the 200th anniversary of Florida becoming a U.S. territory and the official formation of St. Johns County, and celebrations were on Saturday, July 10, 2021. East and West Florida were transferred to the United States from Spanish control two hundred years ago in 1821. Saturday’s events started at 11 a.m. at the Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum at 48 King St. in downtown St. Augustine. “Living history interpreters were dressed as Spanish and United States Troops, dignitaries and townspeople, as they would have appeared in 1821,”. “Declarations were made from the balcony of Governor’s House, documents were signed, in the courtyard.” At 11:20 a.m., re-enactors and others walked from the Governor’s House to the St. Francis Barracks at the National Guard headquarters at 82 Marine St. The public was invited to join the procession. At 11:45 a.m., the changing of flags ceremony took place at the barracks parade field. The Spanish flag was lowered, and the U.S. flag raised. Muskets and cannons were fired. Among the officials attending were Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Spanish Ambassador Santiago Cabanas Ansorena and Consul General of Spain Jaime Lacadena. For longer version go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiL0hk3LjwQ&t=8s
Category: History
The event Symposium on Saturday July 17 is all about St Johns County’s history and diverse culture since 1821.
First Coast TV and Scott Grant sat down to talk about the upcoming Olympics, and previous Olympics, touching on the great Bob Hayes. Hope you enjoy the discussion as the Tokyo Olympics are about to start on July 23.
The tall ship Nao Santa María, a replica of one of the most famous ships in all of human exploration, sailed into St. Augustine Thursday, May 27, 2021 The historic ship will remain here until June 1, 2021. The Nao Santa Maria will be open for tours beginning on Thursday, May 27, 2021 and through Monday, May 31, 2021. The Santa María was one of the three Spanish vessels that made the journey of discovery, captained by Christopher Columbus, in 1492. Guests will be able to roam through all five of the ship’s decks and browse the informative panels on the history of the Santa María and imagine what it was like to be a Spanish sailor 500 years ago.
FCTV sat with St Augustine City Manager John Regan to talk about the process, and difficulties related to the decision and physical movement of this confederate symbol in the middle of La Plaza de la Constitución to its new location.
The bell at the Trinity Parish Episcopal Church has gone on a journey of restoration. It will go to Cincinnati, Ohio and return in December, to be ready to be rang in 2021 when the church celebrates its 200th year anniversary.
Arlene Ortiz brought an exhibition of artifacts from Puerto Rico that included everything from antique irons to old French Contracts related to the railroad locomotives in the island. The exhibition is a true time capsule display of the social, economic, cultural, and political history of the island of enchantment. also Elia Vivoni spoke with First Coast TV on the French Connection with the island.This exhibition was on Nov 16 at Havana Jax in Jacksonville.
J. Michael Francis spent nearly a decade combing through thousands of scribbled notes, ship logs and dusty relics to chronicle Florida’s Spanish past. He hoped that one day he could bring that once hazy picture into sharp focus.
For the chair of the Florida Studies program at University of South Florida St. Petersburg, that day was Thursday (3/15/2018), when the website, La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archive of the Americas, was formally unveiled.
Francis and his team have identified more than 13,000 of Florida’s earliest colonial settlers, representing men and women from the Americas, Africa and Europe. And they weren’t only from Spain — some came from Portugal, Greece, Italy, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and Croatia.
We catch up with Michael Francis and local historian Scott Grant at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center giving a presentation on this digital archive and sharing some wonderful information on things found on it.
The 12th Annual Commemoration of the end of the 2nd Seminole War was held in St. Augustine on Saturday, August 17, 2019. The event featured a parade and a ceremony at the pyramids at the National Cemetery to honor all those who perished in that conflict. The parade began at 10:45 a.m. at St. Francis Barracks, and then proceeded to the National Cemetery. Historical re-enactors in period costume participated in the parade, and members of the public were welcome to join them. In 1842, officers, soldiers, and musicians paraded through the streets of St. Augustine to inter the casualties of the war in the gardens of the St. Francis Barracks. Three coquina pyramids were erected in the cemetery at that time to mark the burial place of more than 1,400 soldiers who died during those wars. The pyramids are known as the Dade Monument after Major Francis L. Dade, who was a leader in the Seminole Wars. This annual heritage event was organized by the West Point Society of North Florida and The Seminole Wars Foundation.
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society held a reception to honor the 16 Rabbis arrested in St. Augustine on June 18, 1964. Both the plaque dedication and the reception were held on the site of the arrest, at the Hilton Garden Inn Bayfront, 32 Avenida Menendez in St. Augustine, which was the Monson Hotel in 1964. The event began at 10:30 a.m. on the steps where Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in June 1964 at the then Monson Hotel. A reception followed the dedication of a plaque to commemorate the largest mass arrest of Rabbis in United States history. Stacey Heath brought and read a statement from Rabbi Sills who was one of the 16 Rabbis and is still alive but in fragile health, living in Eugene Oregon.