A photo of The Alcazar, taken in the 1890s by photographer William Henry Jackson

St. Augustine's History

Discover the stories of St. Augustine’s past.

Founded by the Spanish in 1565, St. Augustine is the "Oldest Continuously Occupied European Settlement in America" or simply "The Ancient City". Trace the threads between the people and places that make up the tapestry that is St. Augustine’s history. Browse Resources to uncover this centuries-long story.

African slave, Haitian revolutionary, Spanish general, and Florida's only black caudillo. When Jorge Biassou arrived in St. Augustine in 1796, he was already a legend in his own time.

Hailed as the 'father' of St. Augustine's Civil Rights Movement, Robert B. Hayling was a dentist, activist, and father. His dental office had the first integrated waiting room in the city.

In seven short weeks, Zora Neale Hurston wrote the most popular novel in African-American literature, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). Her worldly travels brought her in and out of St. Augustine.