St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine San Agustín(Spanish)
City
City of St. Augustine
Top, left to right:Castillo de San Marcos,St. Augustine Light,Flagler College,Lightner Museum,statue near theCathedral Basilica of St. Augustine,St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park,Old St. Johns County Jail
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Ancient City, Old City
Location inSt. Johns Countyand the U.S. state ofFlorida
St. Augustine Location in the United States
Coordinates:29°53′41″N81°18′52″W
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	St. Johns
Established	September 8, 1565(1565-09-08)
Founded by	Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Named for	Saint Augustine of Hippo
Government
• Type	Commissioner-Manager
•Mayor	Nancy Sikes-Kline
•Vice Mayor	Roxanne Horvath
•Commissioners	Barbara Blonder, Cynthia Garris, and Jim Springfield
•City Manager	David Birchim
•City Clerk	Darlene Galambos
Area
•City	12.85 sq mi (33.29 km2)
• Land	9.52 sq mi (24.66 km2)
• Water	3.33 sq mi (8.63 km2)
Elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2020)
•City	14,329
• Density	1,504.99/sq mi (581.05/km2)
•Urban	69,173 (US:399th)
Time zone	UTC−5(EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4(EDT)
ZIP code(s)	32080, 32084, 32085, 32086, 32095, 32082, 32092
Area code(s)	904, 324
FIPS code	12-62500
GNISfeature ID	0308101
Website	City of St. Augustine

St. Augustine(/ˈɔːɡəstiːn/AW-gə-steen;Spanish:San Agustín[sanaɣusˈtin]) is a city in and thecounty seatofSt. Johns Countylocated 40 miles (64 km) south of downtownJacksonville.The city is on theAtlantic coastofnortheasternFlorida.Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is theoldest continuously inhabitedEuropean-established settlement in what is now thecontiguous United States.

St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiralPedro Menéndez de Avilés,Florida'sfirst governor.He named the settlementSan Agustín,for his ships bearing settlers, troops, and supplies from Spain had first sighted land in Florida eleven days earlier on August 28, thefeast dayofSt. Augustine.The city served as the capital ofSpanish Floridafor over 200 years. It was designated as the capital ofBritish East Floridawhen the colony was established in 1763; Great Britain returned Florida to Spain in 1783.

Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1819, and St. Augustine was designated one of the two alternating capitals of theFlorida Territory,the other beingPensacola,upon ratification of theAdams–Onís Treatyin 1821. TheFlorida National Guardmade the city its headquarters that same year. The territorial government moved and madeTallahasseethe permanent capital of Florida in 1824.

St. Augustine is part of Florida'sFirst Coastregion and theJacksonville, FloridaMetropolitan Statistical Area.It had a population of 14,329 at the 2020 census, up from 12,975 at the 2010 census. Since the late 19th century, St. Augustine's distinctive historical character has made the city a tourist attraction.Castillo de San Marcos,the city's 17th-century Spanish fort—constructed out of thesedimentary rockcoquina—continues to attract tourists.St. George Streetis a majorpedestrian streetthat runs through the downtown area and includes over 30 historic houses and tourist attractions.

History

Main article:History of St. Augustine, Florida

Historical Affiliations

Spanish Empire1565–1763
Kingdom of Great Britain1763–1784
Spanish Empire1784–1821
United States1821–1861
Confederate States1861–1862
United States1862–present

Early exploration

The firstEuropeanknown to have explored the coasts ofFloridawas theSpanishexplorer and governor ofPuerto Rico,Juan Ponce de León,who likely ventured in 1513 as far north as the vicinity of the futureSt. Augustine,naming the peninsula he believed to be an island "La Florida"and claiming it for theSpanish crown.

Founding by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Main article:Spanish Florida

Founded in 1565 by the SpanishconquistadorPedro Menéndez de Avilés,St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the contiguous United States.It is the second-oldest continuously inhabited city of European origin in a United States territory, afterSan Juan, Puerto Rico(founded in 1521).

In1560,KingPhilip IIof Spain appointed Menéndez as Captain General, and his brother Bartolomé Menéndez as Admiral, of the Fleet of the Indies.Thus Pedro Menéndez commanded thegalleonsof the greatArmada de la Carrera,orSpanish Treasure Fleet,on their voyage from the Caribbean and Mexico to Spain, and determined the routes they followed.

In early 1564, he asked permission to go to Florida to search forLa Concepcion,thegaleon Capitana,or flagship, of the New Spain fleet commanded by his son, Admiral Juan Menéndez. The ship had been lost in September 1563 when a hurricane scattered the fleet as it was returning to Spain, at the latitude of Bermuda off the coast of South Carolina.The crown repeatedly refused his request.

The crown eventually approached Menéndez to fit out an expedition to Floridaon the condition that he explore and settle the region as King Philip'sadelantado,and eliminate theHuguenotFrench,whom the Catholic Spanish considered to be dangerous heretics.

Menéndez was in a race to reach Florida before the French captainJean Ribault,who was on a mission to secureFort Caroline.On August 28, 1565, the feast day ofSt. Augustine of Hippo,Menéndez's crew finally sighted land; the Spaniards continued sailing northward along the coast from their landfall, investigating every inlet and plume of smoke along the shore. On September 4, they encountered four French vessels anchored at the mouth of a large river (theSt. Johns), including Ribault's flagship,La Trinité.The two fleets met in a brief skirmish, but it was not decisive. Menéndez sailed southward and landed again on September 8, formally declared possession of the land in the name of Philip II, and officially founded the settlement he namedSan Agustín(Saint Augustine).Father Francisco López de Mendoza Grajales, the chaplain of the expedition, celebrated the first ThanksgivingMasson the grounds.The formalFranciscanoutpost,Mission Nombre de Dios,was founded at the landing point, perhaps the first mission in what would become thecontinental United States.

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés moved his colony to the settlement of the Seloy tribe of the Timucua. Their chief gave them the Great House, a structure able to hold several hundred people. Around this meeting house the Spanish dug a moat and added fortifications.

The mission served nearby villages of theMocama,aTimucuagroup, and was at the center of an importantchiefdomin the late 16th and 17th century. The settlement was built in the former Timucua village of Seloy; this site was chosen for its strategic location facing the waterways of St. Augustine bay with their abundant resources, an eminently suitable site for water communications and defense.

A French attack on St. Augustine was thwarted by a violent squall that ravaged the French naval forces. Taking advantage of this, Menéndez marched his troops overland to Fort Caroline on theSt. Johns River,about 30 miles (50 km) north. The Spanish easily overwhelmed the lightly defended French garrison, which had been left with only a skeleton crew of 20 soldiers and about 100 others, killing most of the men and sparing about 60 women and children. The bodies of the victims were hung in trees with the inscription: "Hanged, not as Frenchmen, but as" Lutherans "(heretics) ".Menéndez renamed the fortSan Mateoand marched back to St. Augustine, where he discovered that the shipwrecked survivors from the French ships had come ashore to the south of the settlement. A Spanish patrol encountered the remnants of the French force, and took them prisoner. Menéndez accepted their surrender, but thenexecutedall of them except a few professing Catholics and some Protestant workers with useful skills, at what is now known asMatanzas Inlet(MatanzasisSpanishfor "slaughters" ).The site is very near thenational monumentFort Matanzas,built in 1740–1742 by the Spanish.

Invasions by pirates and enemies of Spain

Succeeding governors of the province maintained a peaceful coexistence with the localNative Americans,allowing the isolated outpost of St. Augustine some stability for a few years. On May 28 and 29, 1586, soon after theAnglo-Spanish Warbegan between England and Spain, the English privateerSir Francis Drakesacked and burnedSt. Augustine.The approach of his large fleet obliged GovernorPedro Menéndez Márquezand the townspeople to evacuate the settlement. When the English got ashore, they seized some artillery pieces and a royal strongbox containing goldducats(which was the garrison payroll).The killing of their sergeant major by the Spanish rearguard caused Drake to order the town razed to the ground.

In 1609 and 1611, expeditions were sent out from St. Augustine against the English colony atJamestown.In the second half of the 17th century, groups of Indians from thecolony of Carolinaconducted raids into Florida and killed theFranciscanpriests who served at theCatholicmissions.Requests by successive governors of the province to strengthen thepresidio's garrison and fortifications were ignored by theSpanish Crownwhich had other priorities in its vast empire. The charter of 1663 for the new Province of Carolina, issued by KingCharles II of England,was revised in 1665, claiming lands as far southward as 29 degrees north latitude, about 65 miles south of the existing settlement at St. Augustine.

The EnglishbuccaneerRobert Searlesacked St. Augustine in 1668, after capturing some Spanish supply vessels bound for the settlement and holding their crews at gun point while his men hid below decks. Searle was retaliating for the Spanish destruction of the settlement ofNew Providenceinthe Bahamas.Searle and his men killed sixty people and pillaged public storehouses, churches and houses.This raid and the establishment of the English settlement atCharles Townspurred the Spanish Crown to finally acknowledge the vulnerability of St. Augustine to foreign incursions and strengthen the city's defenses. In 1669,Queen Regent Marianaordered theViceroy of New Spainto disburse funds for the construction of a permanent masonry fortress, which began in 1672.Before the fortress was completed, French buccaneersMichel de GrammontandNicolas Brigautplanned an ill-fated attack in 1686 which was foiled: their ships were run aground, Grammont and his crew were lost at sea, and Brigaut was captured ashore by Spanish soldiers.TheCastillo de San Marcoswas completed in 1695, not long before an attack byJames Moore's forces from Carolina in November, 1702. Failing to capture the fort after asiege of 58 days,the British set St. Augustine ablaze as they retreated.

In 1738, the governor of Spanish Florida,Manuel de Montiano,ordered a settlement be constructed two miles north of St. Augustine for the growingFree Blackcommunity established byfugitive slaveswho had escaped into Florida from theThirteen Colonies.This new community,Fort Mose,would serve as a military outpost and buffer for St. Augustine, as the men accepted into Fort Mose had enlisted in the colonial militia and converted to Catholicism in exchange for their freedom.

In 1740, however, St. Augustine was again besieged, this time by the governor of the Britishcolony of Georgia,GeneralJames Oglethorpe,who was also unable to take the fort.

Loyalist haven under British rule

Main articles:Treaty of Paris (1763),East Florida,andSouthern theater of the American Revolutionary War

See also:Seven Years' War,French and Indian War,American Revolutionary War,andSpain and the American Revolutionary War

The1763 Treaty of Paris,signed afterGreat Britain's victory over France and Spain during theSeven Years' War,ceded Florida to Great Britain in exchange for the return ofHavanaandManila.The vast majority of Spanish colonists in the region left Florida forCuba,Florida became Great Britain's fourteenth and fifteenthNorth American colonies,and because of the political sympathies of its British inhabitants, St. Augustine became aLoyalisthaven during theAmerican Revolutionary War.

After the mass exodus of St. Augustinians, Great Britain sought to repopulate its new colony. The London Board of Trade advertised 20,000-acre lots to any group that would settle in Florida within ten years, with one resident per 100 acres. Pioneers who were "energetic and of good character" were given 100 acres of land and 50 additional acres for each family member they brought. Under GovernorJames Grant,almost three million acres of land were granted in East Florida alone. Second stories were added to existing Spanish homes and new houses were built. Cattle ranching and plantation agriculture began to thrive.

During the twenty-year period of British rule, Britain took command of both the Castillo de San Marcos (renamed Fort St. Mark) and ofFort Matanzas.They permanently stationed a small group of men at Fort Matanzas. Once war broke out, loyalist St. Augustine residents burned effigies ofPatriotsSamuel AdamsandJohn Hancockin the plaza. Fort St. Mark became a training and supply base, as well as aprisoner-of-war campwhere three signers of theDeclaration of Independenceand South Carolina's lieutenant governorChristopher Gadsdenwere held. Local militias composed of Florida, Georgia, and Carolina inhabitants formed the East Florida Rangers in 1776 and were reorganized to form the King's Rangers in 1779.Spanish GeneralBernardo de Gálvez,harassed the British in West Florida and captured Pensacola. Fears that the Spanish would then move to capture St. Augustine, however, proved unfounded.

The1783 Treaty of Paris,which recognized the independence of theThirteen Coloniesas theUnited States,ceded Florida back to Spain and returned the Bahamas to Britain. As a result, some of the town's Spanish residents returned to St Augustine. Refugees from Dr.Andrew Turnbull's troubled colony inNew Smyrnahad fled to St. Augustine in 1777, made up the majority of the city's population during the period of British rule, and remained when the Spanish Crown took control again. This group was, and still is, referred to locally as "Menorcans",even though it also included settlers from Italy,Corsicaand theGreek islands.

Second Spanish period

Main article:Treaty of Paris (1783)

See also:War of 1812,Creek War,andSeminole Wars § First Seminole War

During theSecond Spanish period(1784–1821) of Florida, Spain was dealing withinvasionsof the Iberian peninsula byNapoleon's armies in thePeninsular War,and struggled to maintain a tenuous hold on its territories in the western hemisphere asrevolutionswept South America. The royal administration of Florida was neglected, as the province had long been regarded as an unprofitable backwater by the Crown. The United States, however, considered Florida vital to its political and military interests as it expanded its territory in North America, and maneuvered by sometimes clandestine means to acquire it.On October 5, 1811, a hurricane hit St. Augustine that caused extensive damage to the city. The damage was further exacerbated by the economic situation of Spanish Florida.TheAdams–Onís Treaty,negotiated in 1819 and ratified in 1821, ceded Florida and St. Augustine, still its capital at the time, to the United States.

Territory of Florida

Main articles:Adams–Onís TreatyandFlorida Territory

According to the Adams–Onís Treaty, the United States acquired East Florida and absolved Spain of $5 million of debt. Spain renounced all claims to West Florida and the Oregon Country.Andrew Jacksonreturned to Florida in 1821, upon ratification of the treaty, and established a new territorial government. Americans from older plantation societies of Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas began to move to the area. West Florida was quickly consolidated with East and the new capital of Florida became Tallahassee, halfway between the old capitals of St. Augustine and Pensacola, in 1824.

Once many Americans had begun to immigrate to the new territory, it became apparent that there would be continued skirmishes with local Creek and Miccosukee peoples and white settlers encroaching on their land. The United States government favored removal policies, but local indigenous groups in Florida refused to leave without fighting. The nineteenth century saw threeSeminole Wars.In 1823, territorial governor William Duval and James Gadsden signed theTreaty of Moultrie Creek,forcing Seminoles onto a four million acre reservation in central Florida. The Second Seminole War (1835–1842) was the longest war of Indian removal and resulted when the United States government attempted to move theSeminolepeople from Central Florida to a Creek reservation west of theMississippi River.As a result of the Seminole War, Seminoleprisoners,including the prominent leaderOsceola,were held captive in theCastillo de San Marcos,renamed Fort Marion after GeneralFrancis Marion,who fought in the American Revolution, in the 1830s.

By 1840, the territory's population had reached 54,477 people. Half the population were enslaved Africans.Steamboatswere popular on theApalachicolaandSt. Johns Rivers,and there were several plans for railroad construction. The territory south of present-day Gainesville was sparsely populated by whites.

In 1845 the Florida Territory was admitted into the Union as the State of Florida.

Civil War

Main article:Florida in the American Civil War

Slave Market,St. Augustine, Florida in 1886

On January 7, 1861, only three days before Florida would secede and join theConfederacy,a group of 125 Florida militia marched onFort Marion.The fort was guarded by a single sergeant, who surrendered the fort after being provided with a receipt.Gen. Robert E. Lee,who was commander of coastal defenses at the time, ordered that the fort's cannons be removed and sent to more strategic locations, such asFernandinaand the mouth of theSt. Johns River.

The town raised a Confederate militia unit, known as the Florida Independent Blues or theSaint Augustine Blues.They were soon joined by the Milton Guard, another militia unit.

In an effort to help blockade runners avoid capture, the Confederate government ordered all lighthouses to be extinguished. In St. Augustine, the customhouse officer,Paul Arnau,organized the "Coastal Guard", a group who worked to disable the lighthouses along Florida's east coast. They started by removing and hiding the lenses from theSt. Augustine Lightbefore moving south. After successfully dismantling the lighthouses atCape Canaveral,Jupiter Inlet,andKey Biscayne,Arnau returned to St. Augustine. He would then serve as mayor from 1861 until early 1862, just before the Federals took over the city.

The Confederate authorities remained in control of St. Augustine for fourteen months, although it was barely defended. The Union conducted a blockade of shipping. In 1862 Union troops gained control of St. Augustine and controlled it through the rest of the war. With the economy already suffering, many residents fled.

Henry Flagler and the railroad

St. Augustine in 1891 from the former San Marco Hotel, Spanish St. on left,Huguenot Cemeterylower left corner, Cordova St. on right

Henry Flagler,a co-founder withJohn D. Rockefellerof theStandard Oil Company,spent the winter of 1883 in St. Augustine and found the city charming, but considered its hotels and transportation systems inadequate.He had the idea to make St. Augustine a winter resort for wealthy Americans from the north, and to bring them south he bought several short line railroads and combined these in 1885 to form theFlorida East Coast Railway.He built a railroad bridge over the St. Johns River in 1888, opening up the Atlantic coast of Florida to development.

Flagler finished construction in 1887 on two large ornate hotels in the city, the 450-roomHotel Ponce de Leonand the 250-roomHotel Alcazar.The next year, he purchased theCasa Monica Hotel(renaming it the Cordova Hotel) across the street from both the Alcazar and the Ponce de Leon. His chosen architectural firm,Carrère and Hastings,radically altered the appearance of St. Augustine with these hotels, giving it askylineand beginning an architectural trend in the state characterized by the use of theSpanish Renaissance RevivalandMoorish Revivalstyles. With the opening of the Ponce de Leon in 1888, St. Augustine became the winter resort of American high society for a few years.

When Flagler'sFlorida East Coast Railroadwas extended southward toPalm Beachand thenMiamiin the early 20th century, the wealthy stopped in St. Augustine en route to the southern resorts. Wealthy vacationers began to customarily spend their winters in South Florida, where the climate was warmer and freezes were rare. St. Augustine nevertheless still attracted tourists, and eventually became a destination for families traveling in automobiles as new highways were built and Americans took to the road for annual summer vacations. The tourist industry soon became the dominant sector of the local economy.

Civil Rights Movement

Main article:St. Augustine movement

In 1963, nearly a decade after the Supreme Court ruling inBrown v. Board of Educationthat segregation of schools was unconstitutional,African Americanswere still trying to get St. Augustine to integrate the public schools in the city. They were also trying to integrate public accommodations, such as lunch counters,and were met with arrestsandKu Klux Klanviolence.Local students held protests throughout the city, including sit-ins at the localWoolworth's,picket lines, and marches through the downtown. These protests were often met with police violence. Homes of African Americans were firebombed,black leaders were assaulted and threatened with death, and others were fired from their jobs.

In the spring of 1964, St. Augustine civil rights leaderRobert Haylingasked theSouthern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC) and its leaderMartin Luther King Jr.for assistance.From May until July 1964, King and Hayling, along withHosea Williams,C. T. Vivian,Dorothy Cotton,Andrew Youngand others, organized marches, sit-ins, pray-ins, wade-ins and other forms of protest in St. Augustine. Hundreds of black and white civil rights supporters were arrested,and the jails were filled to capacity.At the request of Hayling and King, civil rights supporters from elsewhere, including students, clergy, activists and well-known public figures, came to St. Augustine and were arrested together.

St. Augustine was the only place in Florida where King was arrested; his arrest there occurred on June 11, 1964, on the steps of theMonson Motor Lodge'srestaurant. The demonstrationscame to a climax when a group of black and white protesters jumped into the hotel's segregated swimming pool.In response to the protest, James Brock, the manager of the hotel and the president of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association, poured muriatic acid into the pool to scare the protesters. Photographs of this, and of a policeman jumping into the pool to arrest the protesters, were broadcast around the world. One appeared on the front page of the Washington paper the day the senate went to vote on the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. It became the most famous photograph ever taken in St. Augustine.

The Ku Klux Klan and its supporters responded to these protests with violent attacks that were widely reported in national and international media.Popular revulsion against the Klan and police violence in St. Augustine generated national sympathy for the black protesters and became a key factor in Congressional passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964,leading eventually to passage of theVoting Rights Act of 1965,both of which provided federal enforcement ofconstitutional rights.

St. Augustine's historically Black college, nowFlorida Memorial University,felt itself unwelcome in St. Augustine, and departed in 1968 for a new campus nearOpa-lockainDade County.It is currently located in theOpa-locka Northneighborhood ofMiami Gardens,next toSt. Thomas University.

Modern St. Augustine

In 1965, St. Augustine celebrated the 400th anniversary of its founding,and jointly with the State of Florida, inaugurated a program to restore part of the colonial city. TheHistoric St. Augustine Preservation Boardwas formed to reconstruct more than thirty-six buildings to their historical appearance, which was completed within a few years. When the State of Florida abolished the Board in 1997, the City of St. Augustine assumed control of the reconstructed buildings, as well as other historic properties including theGovernment House.In 2010, the city transferred control of the historic buildings toUF Historic St. Augustine, Inc.,a direct support organization of theUniversity of Florida.

Cross and Swordwas a 1965playby American playwrightPaul Greencreated to honor the 400th anniversary of the settlement of St. Augustine. It wasFlorida's official state play, having received the designation by theFlorida Senatein 1973.It was performed for ten weeks every summer in St. Augustine for more than 30 years, closing in 1996.

In 2015, St. Augustine celebrated the 450th anniversary of its founding with a four-day long festival and a visit fromFelipe VI of SpainandQueen Letizia of Spain.

On October 7, 2016Hurricane Matthewcaused widespread flooding in downtown St. Augustine.

Geography and climate

View of St. Augustine from the top of the lighthouse on Anastasia Island

St. Augustine is located at29°53′41″N81°18′52″W(29.8946910, −81.3145170). According to theUnited States Census Bureau,the city has a total area of 10.7 square miles (27.8 km²), 8.4 square miles (21.7 km²) of which is land and 2.4 square miles (6.1 km²) (21.99%) is water. Access to the Atlantic Ocean is via the St. Augustine Inlet of theMatanzas River.

St. Augustine has ahumid subtropical climate(Cfa) typical of the Gulf and South Atlantic states. The low latitude and coastal location give the city a mostly warm and sunny climate. Unlike much of thecontiguous United States,St. Augustine's driest time of year is winter. The hot and wet season extends from May through October, while the cool and dry season extends November through April.

In summer, average high temperatures are in the lower 90's F (32 C) and normal low temperatures are in the 70's F (20 - 22 C). The Bermuda High pumps in hot and unstable tropical air from the Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico, which help create the daily thundershowers that are typical in summer months. Intense but very brief downpours are common in summer in the city. Fall and spring are warm and sunny with highs from 74 °F to 87 °F and lows in the 50s to 70s.

In winter, St. Augustine has generally mild and sunny weather typical of the Florida peninsula. The coolest months are from December through February, with highs from 67 °F to 70 °F and lows from 47 °F to 51 °F. From November through April, St. Augustine often has long periods of rainless weather. April can see near drought conditions with brush fires and water restrictions in place. St. Augustine averages 4.6 frosts per year. The record low of 10 °F (−12 °C) happened on January 21, 1985.Hurricanesoccasionally impact the region; however, like most areas prone to such storms, St. Augustine rarely suffers a direct hit by a major hurricane. The last direct hit by a major hurricane to the city wasHurricane Dorain 1964. Extensive flooding occurred in the downtown area of St. Augustine whenHurricane Matthewpassed east of the city in October 2016.

Climate data for St. Augustine, Florida (St. Augustine Light), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1973–2016
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	86 (30)	87 (31)	93 (34)	95 (35)	98 (37)	101 (38)	103 (39)	101 (38)	99 (37)	94 (34)	89 (32)	86 (30)	103 (39)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	80.0 (26.7)	81.8 (27.7)	84.9 (29.4)	88.6 (31.4)	93.3 (34.1)	95.9 (35.5)	97.6 (36.4)	96.0 (35.6)	92.8 (33.8)	89.0 (31.7)	84.2 (29.0)	81.1 (27.3)	98.5 (36.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	67.5 (19.7)	69.7 (20.9)	74.4 (23.6)	79.8 (26.6)	85.1 (29.5)	88.6 (31.4)	91.0 (32.8)	89.9 (32.2)	87.4 (30.8)	81.8 (27.7)	74.9 (23.8)	68.9 (20.5)	79.9 (26.6)
Daily mean °F (°C)	57.6 (14.2)	60.0 (15.6)	64.5 (18.1)	70.2 (21.2)	76.3 (24.6)	80.4 (26.9)	82.4 (28.0)	82.1 (27.8)	80.3 (26.8)	74.2 (23.4)	66.2 (19.0)	60.1 (15.6)	71.2 (21.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	47.8 (8.8)	50.2 (10.1)	54.6 (12.6)	60.6 (15.9)	67.4 (19.7)	72.3 (22.4)	73.8 (23.2)	74.2 (23.4)	73.1 (22.8)	66.5 (19.2)	57.5 (14.2)	51.3 (10.7)	62.4 (16.9)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	28.1 (−2.2)	32.1 (0.1)	36.9 (2.7)	44.6 (7.0)	55.6 (13.1)	64.8 (18.2)	68.1 (20.1)	68.6 (20.3)	64.0 (17.8)	49.0 (9.4)	39.1 (3.9)	31.4 (−0.3)	25.6 (−3.6)
Record low °F (°C)	10 (−12)	21 (−6)	23 (−5)	34 (1)	41 (5)	52 (11)	59 (15)	61 (16)	54 (12)	36 (2)	29 (−2)	16 (−9)	10 (−12)
Averageprecipitationinches (mm)	2.74 (70)	2.69 (68)	3.43 (87)	2.93 (74)	3.66 (93)	6.27 (159)	4.88 (124)	7.18 (182)	7.18 (182)	4.37 (111)	2.32 (59)	2.99 (76)	50.64 (1,286)
Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in)	9.4	7.8	8.6	6.8	7.2	12.3	11.6	15.0	13.5	9.1	8.1	8.4	117.8
Source: NOAA (mean maxima/minima 1981–2010)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	1,708		—
1840	2,450		43.4%
1850	1,934		−21.1%
1860	1,914		−1.0%
1870	1,717		−10.3%
1880	2,293		33.5%
1890	4,742		106.8%
1900	4,272		−9.9%
1910	5,494		28.6%
1920	6,192		12.7%
1930	12,111		95.6%
1940	12,090		−0.2%
1950	13,555		12.1%
1960	14,734		8.7%
1970	12,352		−16.2%
1980	11,985		−3.0%
1990	11,692		−2.4%
2000	11,592		−0.9%
2010	12,975		11.9%
2020	14,329		10.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

St. Augustine racial composition
(Hispanics excluded from racial categories)
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White(NH)	10,443	11,275	80.49%	78.69%
Black or African American(NH)	1,460	1,136	11.25%	7.93%
Native AmericanorAlaska Native(NH)	46	40	0.35%	0.28%
Asian(NH)	155	246	1.19%	1.72%
Pacific IslanderorNative Hawaiian(NH)	10	7	0.08%	0.05%
Some other race(NH)	19	53	0.15%	0.37%
Two or more races/Multiracial(NH)	186	523	1.43%	3.65%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)	656	1,049	5.06%	7.32%
Total	12,975	14,329

As of the2020 United States census,there were 14,329 people, 5,828 households, and 3,072 families residing in the city.

In 2020, 2.2% of the population were under 5 years old, 8.7% under 18 years old, and 25.5% were 65 years and over. 57.9% of the population were female.

In 2020, the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $294,600. The median gross rent was $1,118. 91.2% of households had a computer and 83.0% of households had a broadband internet subscription.

In 2020, 93.8% of the population 25 years and older had a high school degree or higher and 37.4% of that same population had a bachelor's degree or higher.

In 2020, the median household income was $60,455. The per capita income was $33,060. 17.0% lived below thePoverty threshold.

There were 1,230 veterans living in the city between 2016 and 2020, and 6.6% of the population were foreign born persons.

As of the2010 United States census,there were 12,975 people, 5,494 households, and 2,546 families residing in the city.

Government and politics

St. Augustine is the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida.

The city of St. Augustine operates under acity commission government,specifically thecommissioner-managerform, with an electedmayor,vice mayor,andcity commission.Additionally, the government includes acity manager,city attorney,city clerk,and various city boards.

Transportation

Highways

Major roadways, St. Augustine and vicinity

• Interstate 95runs north–south.
• U.S. Route 1runs north–south.
• State Road A1Aruns north–south.
• State Road 16runs east–west
• State Road 207runs northeast–southwest
• State Road 312runs east–west

Buses

Bus service is operated by the Sunshine Bus Company, based inSt. Augustine Beach.Buses operate mainly between shopping centers across town, but a few go to Hastings and Jacksonville, where one can connect toJTAfor additional service across Jacksonville.

There is also a tour bus company,Old Town Trolley Tours of St. Augustine.

Airport

Main article:Northeast Florida Regional Airport

St. Augustine has one public airport 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the downtown. It has three runways and twoseaplanelanes.

Rail

TheFlorida East Coast Railwayruns through St. Augustine. Passenger service to the city ended in 1968.First Coast Commuter Railis a project to establishcommuter railservices between Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Points of interest

First and second Spanish eras

• Avero House
• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
• Fort Matanzas National Monument
• Fort Mose Historic State Park
• Nombre de Dios
• Gonzalez-Alvarez House
• Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
• The Spanish Military Hospital Museum
• St. Francis Barracks
• Colonial Quarter
• Ximenez-Fatio House
• González-Jones House
• Llambias House
• Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
• Tolomato CemeteryandHuguenot Cemetery

British era

• The King's Bakery

Pre-Flagler era

• St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum
• Markland Mansion

Flagler era

• Ponce de Leon Hotel
• Casa Monica Hotel
• Hotel Alcazar
• Zorayda Castle
• Bridge of Lions
• Old St. Johns County Jail
• Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museumlocated in 1887 mansion of William Worden.
• St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Historic churches

• Grace United Methodist Church
• Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
• Memorial Presbyterian Church
• Trinity Church of St. Augustine

Lincolnville National Historic District – Civil Rights era

Main article:Lincolnville Historic District

• St. Benedict the Moor School

Other points of interest

• Anastasia State Park
• Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
• Great Cross
• St. Augustine Amphitheatre
• St. Augustine Aquarium
• St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum
• St. George Street
• Victory III,St. Augustine Scenic Cruise boat, since 1973

See also:List of St. Augustine parks

Culture

Music

• The Wobbly Toms(2003), band

Education

Ray CharlesCenter and the Theodore Johnson Center, at theFlorida School for the Deaf and Blind

Primaryandsecondaryeducation in St. Augustine is overseen by theSt. Johns County School District.

There are four zoned elementary schools with sections of the city limits in their attendance boundaries: John A. Crookshank (outside the city limits),R. B. Hunt,Ketterlinus,and Osceola (outside the city limits). There are two zoned middle schools (both outside the city limits): R. J. Murray Middle School,and Sebastian Middle School.There are no county high schools located within St. Augustine's current city limits, butSt. Augustine High Schoolis the designated senior high school for residentially-zoned land in St. Augustine.AdditionallyPedro Menendez High School,andSt. Johns Technical High Schoolare located in the vicinity.

TheFlorida School for the Deaf and Blind,a state-operatedboarding schoolfordeafandblindstudents, was founded in the city in 1885.The CatholicDiocese of St. Augustineoperates theSt. Joseph Academy,Florida's oldestCatholic high school,to the west of the city.

There are several institutions of higher education in and around St. Augustine.Flagler Collegeis a four-yearliberal arts collegefounded in 1968. It is located in the formerPonce de Leon Hotelin downtown St. Augustine.St. Johns River State College,astate collegein theFlorida College System,has its St. Augustine campus just west of the city. Also in the area are theUniversity of North Florida,Jacksonville University,andFlorida State College at Jacksonvillein Jacksonville.

The institution now known asFlorida Memorial Universitywas located in St. Augustine from 1918 to 1968, when it relocated to its present campus inMiami Gardens.Originally known as Florida Baptist Academy, then Florida Normal, and then Florida Memorial College, it was ahistorically blackinstitution and had a wide impact on St. Augustine while it was located there. DuringWorld War IIit was chosen as the site for training the first blacks in the U. S.Signal Corps.Among its faculty members wasZora Neale Hurston;a historic marker was placed in 2003 at the house at 791 West King Street where she lived while teaching at Florida Memorial(and where she completed her autobiographyDust Tracks on a Road.)

• 
  St. Augustine High Schoolis not in the city limits, but is the zoned high school of St. Augustine
• 
  Ketterlinus Elementary School is one of two public elementary schools in the St. Augustine city limits.
• 
  Florida School for the Deaf and Blindis a statewide K-12 school for the deaf and blind in St. Augustine

Notable people

United States SenatorDavid Levy Yulee

AuthorZora Neale Hurston

• Andrew Anderson,physician, St. Augustine mayor
• Steve Berry (novelist),bestselling author, resides in St. Augustine
• Jorge Biassou,Haitian revolutionary and black Spanish general
• Richard Boone,actor
• Albert Boyd,member ofNational Aviation Hall of Fame
• James Branch Cabell,novelist
• Doug Carn,jazz musician
• Cris Carpenter,major league baseball pitcher
• Ray Charles,pianist, singer, composer
• George J. F. Clarke,Surveyor General of Spanish East Florida
• Nicholas de Concepcion,escaped slave who became a Spanish privateer and pirate captain
• Earl Cunningham,artist
• Alexander Darnes,born a slave, became a well-known physician
• Edmund Jackson Davis,governor of Texas
• Kathleen Deagan,archaeologist
• Frederick Delius,composer
• Frederick Dent,general and brother-in-law ofUlysses Grant
• Audrey Nell Edwards,civil rights hero
• Henry Flagler,industrialist
• Willie Galimore,football star
• Michael Gannon,historian
• William H. Gray,U.S. congressman and president of the United Negro College Fund
• Martin Davis Hardin,Union General in the Civil War
• Robert Hayling,civil rights leader
• Martin Johnson Heade,artist
• Zora Neale Hurston,novelist and folklorist
• Willie Irvin,Philadelphia Eagles football player
• Stetson Kennedy,author and human rights activist
• Scott Lagasse,race car driver
• Scott Lagasse Jr.,race car driver
• Jacob Lawrence,artist
• William W. Loring,Confederate general
• Albert Manucy,historian, author,Fulbright Scholar
• Howell W. Melton,United States district judge
• Pedro Menéndez de Avilés,founder of St. Augustine in 1565
• Prince Achille Murat,nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte
• Andrew Nagorski,journalist and author
• David Nolan,author and historian
• Osceola,Seminole War leader (held prisoner atFort Marion,nowCastillo de San Marcos)
• Verle A. Pope,state legislator
• Richard Henry Pratt,soldier and educator
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings,novelist
• Marcus Roberts,musician
• Gamble Rogers,folk singer
• John M. Schofield,Union general
• Edmund Kirby Smith,Confederate general
• Bill Snowden,race car driver
• Steve Spurrier,college/pro (American) football coach
• Felix Varela,Cuban national hero
• Augustin Verot,first Bishop of St. Augustine
• Patty Wagstaff,member ofNational Aviation Hall of Fame
• DeWitt Webb,physician, St. Augustine mayor, state representative
• David Levy Yulee,firstJewishU.S. Senator,Levy CountyandYulee, Floridanamesake
• Agustin V. Zamorano,pioneer printer and provisional governor of California
• Nathan Sturgis,American former soccer player who last played forSeattle Sounders FCinMajor League Soccer.

Sister cities

See also:List of sister cities in Florida

St. Augustine'ssister citiesare:

• Avilés,Spain
• Cartagena,Colombia
• Menorca,Spain
• Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic

Gallery

• 
  Bell toweron northeast bastion of theCastillo de San Marcos
• 
  North bastions and wall of the Castillo, looking eastward toward Anastasia Island
• 
  Seawall south of the Castillo
• 
  The city gates of St. Augustine, built in 1808, part of the much olderCubo Line
• 
  TheGovernment House.East wing of the building dates to the 18th-century structure built on original site of the colonial governor's residence.
• 
  Facade of the Roman CatholicCathedral of St. Augustine
• 
  Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche atMission Nombre de Dios
• 
  Statue ofPonce de León
• 
  Memorial Presbyterian Church
• 
  The former Hotel Alcazar now houses theLightner Museumand City Hall
• 
  Flagler College,formerly thePonce de Leon Hotel
• 
  Bridge of Lions, looking eastward to Anastasia Island
• 
  Tolomato Cemetery

See also

• Gálveztown(brig sloop)– ship which played a role in theGulf Coast campaignof theAmerican Revolutionary WarunderBernardo de Gálvez,and itsreplicabuilt recently in Spain anticipating the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine's founding (1565–2015).
• St. Augustine movement

Further reading

• Abbad y Lasierra, Iñigo, "Relación del descubrimiento, conquista y población de las provincias y costas de la Florida" – "Relación de La Florida" (1785); edición de Juan José Nieto Callén y José María Sánchez Molledo.
• Colburn, David,Racial Change and Community Crisis: St. Augustine, Florida, 1877–1980(1985), New York: Columbia University Press.
• Corbett, Theodore G. (1974). "Migration to a Spanish Imperial Frontier in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: St. Augustine".The Hispanic American Historical Review.54(3): 414–430.doi:10.2307/2512931.JSTOR2512931.
• Deagan, Kathleen,Fort Mose: Colonial America's Black Fortress of Freedom(1995), Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
• Fairbanks, George R. (George Rainsford),History and antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida(1881), Jacksonville, Florida, H. Drew.
• Gannon, Michael V.,The Cross in the Sand: The Early Catholic Church in Florida 1513–1870(1965), Gainesville: University Presses of Florida.
• Goldstein, Holly Markovitz, "St. Augustine's "Slave Market": A Visual History,"Southern Spaces,28 September 2012.
• Gordon, Elsbeth,Florida's Colonial Architectural Heritage,University Press of Florida, 2002;Heart and Soul of Florida: Sacred Sites and Historic Architecture,University Press of Florida, 2013
• Graham, Thomas,The Awakening of St. Augustine,(1978), St. Augustine Historical Society
• Hanna, A. J.,A Prince in Their Midst,(1946), Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
• Harvey, Karen,America's First City,(1992), Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Tailored Tours Publications.
• Harvey, Karen,St. Augustine Enters the Twenty-first Century,(2010), Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company.
• Landers, Jane,Black Society in Spanish Florida(1999), Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
• Lardner, Ring,Gullible's Travels,(1925), New York: Scribner's.
• Lyon, Eugene,The Enterprise of Florida,(1976), Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
• Manucy, Albert,Menendez,(1983), St. Augustine Historical Society.
• Marley, David F. (2005), "United States: St. Augustine",Historic Cities of the Americas,vol. 2, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, p. 627+,ISBN978-1-57607-027-7
• McCarthy, Kevin (editor),The Book Lover's Guide to Florida,(1992), Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press.
• Nolan, David,Fifty Feet in Paradise: The Booming of Florida,(1984), New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Nolan, David,The Houses of St. Augustine,(1995), Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press.
• Porter, Kenneth W.,The Black Seminoles: History of a Freedom-Seeking People,(1996), Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
• Reynolds, Charles B. (Charles Bingham),Old Saint Augustine, a story of three centuries,(1893), St. Augustine, Florida E. H. Reynolds.
• Torchia, Robert W.,Lost Colony: The Artists of St. Augustine, 1930–1950,(2001), St. Augustine: The Lightner Museum.
• Turner, Glennette Tilley,Fort Mose,(2010), New York: Abrams Books.
• United States Commission on Civil Rights, 1965.Law Enforcement: A Report on Equal Protection in the South.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
• Warren, Dan R.,If It Takes All Summer: Martin Luther King, the KKK, and States' Rights in St. Augustine, 1964,(2008), Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
• Waterbury, Jean Parker (editor),The Oldest City,(1983), St. Augustine Historical Society.

External links

Government resources

• City of St. Augustine Official Website
• St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District

Local news media

• The St. Augustine Record/staugustine,the city's daily print and online newspaper
• Historic City News,daily online news journal