Flaglerville - Feb 9 -12, 2015

Henry Flagler made his fortune as one of the founders of Standard Oil, then turned his attention to other interests. One of the best known is the railroad he built south through Florida as far as Key West, but it was really only to serve the cities he’d heavily invested in along the eastern Florida coast: Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona, Palm Beach, etc. Of all these, St. Augustine bears his mark more than any other because of the large number of buildings he built or financed or bought. I found it to be a charming city with much more to see and do than I ever expected.

After leaving Titusville, I drove north through Daytona, which was something of a ghost town in this February off-season. I didn't drive my RV on the beach because I did not want the possible aggravation of getting stuck, but I was duly impressed by the mile after mile of beachfront hotels. I stayed that night in Tomokie State Park, Just north of Daytona. It’s a sleepy, but very nice little park. There’s a statue and a plaque that explain its name:

The next day, I drove on to St. Augustine. Except for being highly recommended by Stephanie and Richard, I didn’t know anything more than it had an old Spanish fort, so I decided to take the tourist bus tour. That turned out to be a fantastic introduction to the city, and I got three days of hop-on/hop-off riding for the price of one. These bus tours have since become my default method of learning my way around a new city. The order of sights below more or less follow the route of the tour.

St. Augustine lays claim to being the oldest continuously inhabited city in North America, and so many other attractions also claim to be the oldest this or that. For instance, the oldest store in America:

Across from the store is the old city jail:

Sitting on that bench is a likeness of the 6’ 4” 400 pound notorious sheriff. If you think this doesn’t look much like a jail, that’s Flagler’s doing. He offered to pay for its construction provided it didn’t stand out as an eyesore, and that it was at least one mile from the center of “his” city. Across from the jail is this wagon:

Inmates would be hauled out into the woods for the latest road construction project, and spend their nights - possibly for months at a time - in this wagon, with no protection from the elements or the bugs. Our guide was very knowledgable, and for no historic reason, spoke with a thick Irish accent:

This gallows behind the jail was used to hang three men:

Here are the cells inside the jail:

The iron cell block is separated from the outside walls by a broad aisle, so there was no passing notes through the bars, or pulling out a window with a team of horses. We couldn’t tour the upper cells, the way blocked by another imposing replica or the sheriff:

I did notice the upper cells were considerably larger than the lower cells, which barely had space between the bunks to stand. Ah yes, well, you see, the lower cells were for prisoners of color. In that same jail building, the sheriff had his office:

and his living quarters:

including his children:

Starting off on the bus tour, you pass by Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth:

a Ripley’s Believe It or Not:

(this is an entire house carved from the trunk of one tree), and the world’s tallest cross, at 208 ft:

Before long, you come to the gate of the old walled city:

A part of the old wall has been reconstructed:

Adjacent to the city gate is the main shopping and dining street, which is a pedestrian mall:

It's fun to have a little randomness thrown in:

Walking this street, you run across many historic buildings:

The Peck House is old, but St. Augustine boasts (of course) the oldest house in America:

(which I did not tour - not because I ran out of time - but because they permit no interior photography, another pet peeve!)

The pedestrian mall ends at the city square, which has a statue of good old Ponce:

The Catholic cathedral borders the square:

The Episcopal/Anglican church is across the square: 

While I’m on the subject, here are other notable churches around town. The memorial Presbyterian church Flagler built to honor his daughter who died at an early age:

The Baptist church, which Flagler paid for because he wanted to buy the lot their original church stood on:

Since it was close to his home, he set the condition that it have no bells to ring. The Methodist church, which Flagler refused to pay for when the Methodists came asking, thinking that they were next in line:

Other notable buildings around town:

The quarters from which British authorities governed when they held sway. The city’s only skyscraper (six stories!):

The city fathers agreed to let a bank build it on the condition that it fit into the city’s architecture. When completed, they agreed it was a beautiful building, but felt they had made a terrible mistake and would never again permit a building over three stories tall.

I’ve saved some of the most spectacular buildings for last. Flagler tried to buy the Villa Zorayda:

but was turned down, so he built the Ponce de Leon Hotel across the street:

It is now home to Flagler College. When it filled to capacity, he built the Alcazar Hotel across the street:

It’s now the Lightner Museum of collections; anything that can be collected is in that museum. A Flagler rival built the Casa Monica Hotel on an adjacent piece of property:

but was later forced to sell it to Flagler when all his furniture failed to be delivered by the railroad - you know, the railroad that Flagler owned.

Of course, the top spot has to go to the old fort:

Here’s a model to orient yourself:

The entry is on the left, the sea is in the foreground. A modest drawbridge:

Where the enlisted slept:

Other interior rooms:

As you see above, some had wooden ceilings to provide a loft space. Many of the interior walls were originally covered in plaster, but only a few examples remain:

In the courtyard, a docent in full regalia was providing what appeared to be impromptu discourses:

A single staircase leads to the top of the ramparts, where there are numerous cannon:

Watch yourself, Flagler College, just… watch yourself:

The remnants of a cannon that exploded:

You exit the same way you entered:

What’s that? You haven’t seen enough cannon? Alright:

This guy is one of two that guard a nearby bridge:

For my third and last day in town, I set out to explore some interiors:

America’s oldest drugstore (naturally) now also houses a wax museum:

These two hang out in front room:

You can pay to see more wax figures, but that was enough for me. I’d rather spend my time at:

They grind grains outside to avoid the dust:

Just down the street from the distillery is a winery, so in the interest of fairness:

Their bottling line:

If you like sweet wines, this is the place for you, otherwise, give it a pass.

I saved the best for last: chocolate! The Whetstone chocolate factory in St. Augustine used to supply all the big candy manufacturers, now they specialize in gourmet chocolate. We got to see the entire process from cocoa beans to wrapped candies:

I bought some of their wares (quite a bit, actually), and I do believe it’s the best chocolate I’ve ever had.

Though I spent three active days in town, I have many sites to tour when - not if - I return: the Fountain of Youth, Ripley's Believe It or Not, the area surrounding the foot of the tallest cross, Flagler College which includes several large Tiffany glass windows, the Lightner Museum, Villa Zorayda, many of the old homes, several of the historic churches, not to mention the many enticing restaurants I saw.

It was now nearly mid-February, time for me to start heading northward. Since the coast is warmer than inland, I decided to do some island hopping. That’s the topic of my next post.