So What’s A Governor’s House?

Have you always wondered: What is the difference between a governor's house and a government house? Why does Florida have a governor's house in St. Augustine and a governor's mansion in Tallahassee? Well, today we are here to answer some of your gubernatorial housing questions. Governor's House vs. Government House To keep this definition simple: …

Baking Cookies at the Spanish Bakery

There’s nothing quite like a cookie to get us in the holiday spirit, so we’re celebrating by highlighting the sweet treats from the Spanish Bakery. Located behind Salcedo House, this bakery once offered tourists "Spanish bread and cookies in the old-fashioned way" as part of the living history museum San Agustin Antiguo. Salcedo Kitchen, looking …

Vecinos en San Agustin (Neighbors in St. Augustine)

We think the best part about the de la Puente map is that we're able to make connections not only between people and their homes, but between neighbors. On Friday, we explored the Rodriguez family and their home, and today we're heading just a few feet southeast to the Sanchez de Ortigosa family. Jose Sanchez …

Florida’s First Hispanic Families

You may have walked up and down St. George Street countless times and never noticed the Rodriguez House, a petite structure unusually set far back from the road. It's nestled between the former Monk's Vineyard and the Spanish Dutch Convoy shop near the intersection of St. George and Cuna Streets. Though it's small in square …

A Tale of Two Ortegas

Have you ever been to the Hyppo on St. George Street? Way before they were serving us all deliciously cold pops, it was the home of the Ortega family!  If you've been following along this month, you know how vital the de la Puente map is to our understanding of Spanish colonial St. Augustine and …

A History Mystery: Who was Juan Garcia Martínez Gallegos?

At first glance, Gallegos House seems like an ordinary St. Augustine casa from the First Spanish Period (1513-1763). Juan Josef Elixio de la Puente on his 1764 map recorded the rectangular home built of ripio. He noted it belonged to Juan Garcia Martínez Gallegos. Almost two centuries later, the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board set …

Rolling History and Cigars in St. Augustine

When it comes to cigars, St. Augustine probably does not come to mind first. You might instead imagine Tampa or Cuba. Well, let us cure that by chomping down on our city's long, smokey relationship with cigarro. Let us start at the beginning. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they found Native Americans cultivating tobacco …

Immigrants: We Get the Job Done

Here at Governor’s House, we spend a lot of time researching and talking about the buildings that the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board restored and reconstructed, but lately we’ve become interested in learning more about the people who made the dream of San Agustín Antiguo, their museum village, possible. One couple in particular, Kjell and …

Benet Store: A Shopping Trip to the Past

Supermarkets and grocery stores play an important role in our communities. They keep us fed and supplied with everything we need and want. These days, we could not be more grateful for their essential work. So today let us take shopping trip back in time to one such store which once stood on St. George …

A Brush with the Historic Colors of St. Augustine

Today, we are going to paint the town . . . white. Yes, that is right - white. We are looking back in time for our next home improvement project - whitewashing our walls. Let us explore the colors (or lack of colors) that once coated early St. Augustine's walls. A paint sample from a …