THE OLDEST CITY'S HISTORY

Modern Times: 1914 to Present

Beginning twentieth century until to-day

By 1914 St. Augustine had become a dull, sleepy town. The trains with the super rich

bypassing it for the most part to southern resorts all the way down to Key West.

A devastating fire on April 2, 1914 (details) did not help either, laying waste to five blocks containing

hotels, businesses and residences.

The summer of 1914 saw the start of World War One. (details) The war actually benefitted the town

somewhat as well-to-do tourists, denied access to the European spas and resorts, found the

Ancient City and other Florida areas again, until the Spanish flu arrived in the summer of 1918.

For a while St. Augustine closed down with public gatherings forbidden, schools closed and

families isolated in their homes.

The year 1914 also saw the start of an improvement program, often referred to as "the

decade of progress". (summary) Motorized fire engines were deployed, 64 miles of roads added to St. Johns

County to attract the growing number of automobiles coming to town.

City streets were paved lighted at night by gas street lamps.

A new city ice plant supported the prosperous fishing fleet.

More relief came in 1925 when Florida's real estate boom hit the city. (summary)

Developer D.P. Davis, after a successful venture in the Tampa area started to develop Davis Shores (details)

in a deserted marsh in northern Anastasia Island, across from downtown St. Augustine.

One result was the building of a bridge, literally, between downtown and the newly planned

development, the Bridge of Lions, finished in 1927.

Unfortunately the boom did not last long, Davis disappeared during an October 1926 cruise,

and his company struggled until bankruptcy during the 1930's Depression.

It would take a generation before Davis Shores finally was completed.

The Depression itself did not hurt St. Augustine as much as other areas. There were no really

large industries in town, meaning no mass layoffs and the largest employer The Florida East

Coast Railway did relatively well. The fishing industry stayed strong.

As during World War One summer tourism picked up from nearby states.

The poor found help from a recently started branch of the Catholic Society of St. Vincent de Paul. (details)

During World War Two the town was compensated for the lack of normal tourism by the U.S. Coast Guard

establishing a training station there. Most hotels were taken over by the government to house the trainees. (summary)

Gradually after the war good times returned. The emergence of superhighways all over the

country and the rising popularity of automobiles brought millions of tourists to Florida, many

of them stopping to explore historic St. Augustine.

On January 1, 1948, the Lightner Museum opened in the former Alcatraz hotel. In 1950 the

original Ripley's Believe-it-or-not museum was added.

In 1951 the movie "Distant Drums" starring Gary Cooper was filmed. Sightseeing trains became popular in 1953.

One incident interrupted this period of prosperity and optimism when the civil rights (summary)

movement (details) temporarily placed St. Augustine in newspaper headlines and on TV screens.

In May 1964 the Reverend Martin Luther King arrived together with Andrew Young (later Mayor of Atlanta).

Marches and demonstrations led by them resulted in violence and arrests.

The situation got so bad that eventually Governor Farris Bryant considered sending in the

Florida National Guard, settling on a small army of state troopers instead.

Passage of the Civil Rights Bill by Congress finally brought an end to the demonstrations.

The situation had improved so much that by next year the celebration of the quadricentennial, (details)

the 400th anniversary of the city's founding was a success, even though an unwelcome visitor,

Hurricane Betsy, arrived on September 8, the very day the first mass was held 400 years ago! (summary)

Today the tall steel cross on the Nombre de Dios site reminds us of this event. (details)

Since then St. Augustine and Anastasia Island have seen a dramatic increase in real estate development.

Despite this torrent growth it has maintained it's historic character as "The Ancient City"

and is still one of the main tourist attactions in Northern Florida.

A survey done during the 450th anniversary celebration showed that approximately six

million visitors come to St. Augustine and St. Johns County each year.

Not bad for a city of about 13,000 people!

To find some additional St. Augustine "tidbits" click on "NEXT".