On The Map: Colonial St. Augustine

On this day in 1764, Juan Josef Elixio de la Puente completed his map of the city of St. Augustine. The de la Puente map carries the distinction of being one of the earliest plans that shows the buildings of colonial St. Augustine. After the Treaty of Paris gave control of Florida to England, de la Puente served as a land agent and assisted in selling land of the Spanish Floridians who left St. Augustine. As part of his real estate duty, he created this plan of the city and its existing structure. It includes detailed information about almost 400 properties in St. Augustine in 1764, such as the names of property owners, structural dimensions, lot sizes, and even materials used to construct the buildings. It is a wonderful historic resource for those interested in colonial life of St. Augustine.

Plano de la RL. Fuerza Baluartes y Linea de la Plaza de SN. Augustin de Florida. University of Florida Digital Collections.

de la Puente eventually left British controlled Florida and moved with his family to Cuba, where he became the Chief Auditor of the Royal Treasury of the Island, as well as the Judge of Appeals for the Royal Treasury.

The de la Puente map, along with many other historic views of the city, are part of the map collection at the Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum Research Library. Digitized copies of this map and its adaptations are available to the public through the University of Florida Digital Collections.

For more information, contact or visit the Research Library at Governor’s House Cultural Center and Museum.

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