THE OLDEST CITY'S HISTORY

Early Statehood period: 1845 to 1888

As the nation as a whole was in the grip of the Civil War (1861 - 1865) (details) St. Augustine's part was almost anti-climactic.

Almost a year after the state of Florida joined the Confederacy, Union gunboats fresh from

capturing Fernandina were sent south to occupy the city. Instead of preparing for battle

Confederate soldiers and many civilians left for the interior. (summary)

On March 11, 1862 commander C.R.P. Rodgers, USN, anchored in the harbor and boarded a

small boat to be rowed into St. Augustine without any protecting troups.

Acting Mayor Christobal Bravo raised the white flag upon Fort Marion. The two men walked to

town hall for the formal ceremony of surrender. (details)

For the rest of the war the city was Union held and apart from wartime shortages, red tape, lack

of tourism and the long wait for peace, escaped the war's ravages.

One main event was Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 (details) freeing the slaves.

Many of the "freedmen" settled west of the city in a district called "Africa", now Lincolnville. (details)

Nevertheless the war brought many changes.

For the next two decades politics were unsettled by the Republican-Democratic rivalry

heightened by the fact that most Republicans were black, almost all Democrats white.

A change for the better was the start of a public school system in 1868 with the establishment

of the Peabody School. Two years earlier eight sisters of St. Joseph were brought from France to

open a school for freedmen.

Helping the local economy improve was the revival of the orange groves.

Another sign of better times coming was the erection of the St. Augustine Hotel in 1869

providing lodging for the increasing flow of seasonal visitors coming to town.

In 1883 the opening of the rail line from Jacksonville directly to St. Augustine considerably

improved access to the city.

This period found the return of many Indians in 1875, "troublemakers" now exiled, to Fort

Marion, where they stayed until the spring of 1878. (details)

Cheyenes, Commanches and many other tribes could be found there making souvenir trinkets

for the tourist and staging shows on the fort's green or in dining rooms.

An almost tragic lot for those one-time heroic warriors.

Their jailer and mentor Captain Richard Pratt sympathized and organized schooling to teach

English and the skills of a industrial economy. Eventually this would lead to the founding of the

Carlisle Indian School in Pensylvania. (details)

A second group of Indians were held prisoners for several months in 1886 and 1887.

Apaches from Arizona and New Mexico, inluding all three of Geronimo's wives.

They proved to be quite a tourist attraction, so much so that the army had to lock out visitors.

This ended when Captain Pratt returned to recruit them for his Carlysle School.

In the late 1870's the economy started to improve. More winter visitors were coming as the

new railroads and steamships made it easier to reach the city. Also, in addition to people

coming for health reasons, a new class of more affluent visitors discovered St. Augustine

seeking comfort and pleasure.

One of those newcomers was a man called Henry Flagler who came to town in the winter of

1884, spending his honeymoon with his second wife, Alice Shourds Flagler. (details)

Flagler being the founder of the Standard Oil Company, together with John D. Rockefeller, and

recently resigned from that company was looking for ways to spend his many millions constructively.

He found the inspiration for a grand design to do just that on that trip.

In a few years, led by Flagler, St. Augustine would join "The Gilded Age" (details) and never by the same again.