Places of interest

Saint Augustine has kept many features of its long and colorful history. Many buildings have been restored to look as they did when Spain ruled Florida as a colony. Just outside the city gates, the Spanish fortress Castillo de San Marcos faces the bay. Begun in 1672, this national monument is the oldest existing masonry fort in the United States.

Saint Augustine has a variety of museums, including the Lightner Museum and the Saint Augustine Lighthouse and Museum. The Spanish Quarter serves as a living history museum. The area has been recreated to look like an 18th-century Spanish village. People in costumes portray daily life in colonial times. Saint Augustine also has many miles of beaches, and water sports are a favorite pastime.

Economy

Saint Augustine's main industry is tourism. Many people hold jobs in hotels, restaurants, stores, and other places offering services to vacationers. With its location by the water, the city also depends on such businesses as fishing and shipbuilding. The Saint Augustine Municipal Marina serves as a good stopping point for people traveling the Intracoastal Waterway, a shipping route extending for about 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coasts.

History

In 1513 the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León landed near what would later become Saint Augustine. He was searching for the legendary Fountain of Youth. He claimed the land for Spain.

In 1564 France established a fort near the mouth of the Saint Johns River. Spain feared it would lose control of Florida. Therefore Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés destroyed the colony a year later and founded Saint Augustine.

The new city had two goals: protecting Spanish interests and serving as a base for Catholic missionary work. It was attacked many times by the British but stayed under Spanish rule until 1763. That year Florida was given to Great Britain as part of the treaty that ended the French and Indian War. When the American colonies won their independence from Britain in the American Revolution (1775–83), Florida was given back to Spain as a reward for its help.

In 1819 Spain gave up control of Florida to the United States. In the 1860s, during the American Civil War, Union troops occupied Saint Augustine. Under the leadership of businessman Henry M. Flagler, Saint Augustine drew notice as a vacation spot beginning in the 1880s. Flagler's railroad company linked Saint Augustine to large cities on the East Coast.

As other parts of Florida became more developed in the 20th century, Saint Augustine lost some of its appeal. Nevertheless, the city still sees some 2 million visitors each year. Population (2000 census), 11,592.