Things to do / Travel Guide
The history of northeast Florida and the Panhandle stems from its two major periods of Western settlement: When the Spanish came and ruled in the 16th through 18th centuries, and afterwards when Florida became a state of the U.S. Many times these two histories overlap in the same place.
Native American Historical Attractions
There are many Native American historical attractions in northeast Florida and the Panhandle, some dating back nearly 1,000 years. Perhaps the best places in the region to see these historical attractions are at the Mission San Luis, in Tallahassee, and the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, in the city of Crystal River. The Mission happens to be one of the best-surviving remnants in Florida of Spanish attempts to convert the natives to Catholicism, and there are ongoing archeological projects, as well as living history exhibits these today. The park at Crystal River was the site of Native American tribal meetings from 200 B.C. to 1400 A.D., and today you can see one large 30-foot mound surrounded by five smaller mounds. The mounds were burial and ritual sites.
Historical Attractions in St. Augustine
In St. Augustine, the historical highlights can be found in the Town Plan Historic District. A good starting place to see the historical sites is the Colonial Spanish Quarter, a living-history museum located on St. George Street, where you can get a feel for what life was like in the 1740s, right before the British took over the city. Costumed actors interpret life back then, as carpenters, leatherworkers, candle makers, and other tradespeople. You can see them tend livestock and prepare their food, the way it was done in the distant past.
In St. Augustine you'll find ruins attesting to its past as a pawn of so many empires. Only 36 of the buildings that stood in the city in 1822 still stand, but there are about 40 more that are reconstructions. Because of all the different stages the city has gone through, the atmosphere brings to mind of many different periods and places: In some areas in the city you'll feel like you're in a bustling Mediterranean town, in others the romance will sweep you away as if you're in Paris, and in still others you'll feel as if its another historic Southern city like Savanna or Atlanta. Many of the buildings were built by a material called coquina, stone made from compressed shells. It was the building material of choice for the early settlers.
Many of the historical attractions are on St. George Street, which used to be St. Augustine's main thoroughfare. The following is a brief description of the historical highlights of St. Augustine, some on St. George and some not:
- The Castillo de San Marcos, a National Monument, was built in 1695 to protect the Spanish treasure fleets from British pirate ships. The four-pointed fort is one of the oldest of its kind in the Americas, and probably the most hurricane-resistant structure in all of Florida.
- At the northern end of St. George Street there's the Old City Gate, dating back to 1739, whose coquina towers have greeted and/or warned visitors since 1808.
- The Pena-Peck House is located on the corner of St. George and Treasury Street. It was built in the 1740s, and housed the Spanish Royal Treasurer, Juan Esteban de Pena. In the 1830s it was bought by Dr. Seth Peck. Today it's a museum.
- The Plaza de la Constitución, at the center of Cathedral Place, St George Street, Charlotte Street and King Street. Here you can find the Government House (1713), the Trinity Episcopal Church (1825), and the Cathedral of St. Augustine (1797, rebuilt 1887).
- The so-called Oldest House, which is yours for the finding at 14 St. Francis Street, is reputed to be the oldest still-in-use house in the U.S. Built originally in the early 1600s, the present structure dates to the early 1700s. Today it serves as a museum.
Historical Attractions in Pensacola
Pensacola was re-founded in 1698 by the Spanish after a hurricane obliterated the original 1559-era settlement there. From 1698 on, however, historical attractions exist, much the same as they do in St. Augustine. You'll find most of these in the Seville Square Historic District, and in the Historic Pensacola Village, a living museum located within the Historical District.
Around Pensacola there are lots of battle sites, as the city served as the grounds for important and bloody encounters in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. The city was burned down in 1862 by Union troops, and a great rebuilding occurred after the war. You can find landmarks to these events all over the city,: Visit Fort Pickens, where some historians claim the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It holds the distinction of being the only fort in the South never to fall into Confederate hands. It was held by the Union for lack of Confederate strength to take it, until finally Pensacola was one of the first cities to fall to the Union. This event occurred in 1862, fully three years before the Confederacy's loss of the war.
Fort Clinch on Amelia Island
On Amelia Island, north of Fernandina Beach, you can visit Fort Clinch. This was a five-point fort built in the 1840s, but never finished. The Union occupied the stronghold during the Civil War, and on its account many Yankees had their first introduction to the South. During the Spanish-American War in 1898 it was briefly reactivated, but has never been used since for military purposes.
Historical Attractions in Tallahassee
The capital of Florida, Tallahassee, has a good amount of historical attractions from the era of the early state years. It was founded in 1823 with the purpose of being the region's capital, so administration and the fitting building styles are in its blood. There are two historic districts: The Calhoun Street Historic District, which focuses on residences of Tallahassee's historically wealthy, and the Park Avenue Historic District, which contains the city's wealth of governmental buildings.
It's worth your while to snake your way through the Canopy Road loops, outside of Tallahassee. There are lots of historic attractions to stop at along the way, including Native American ceremonial mounds, Spanish missions, and pre-Civil War mansions.
Historical Sites in Jacksonville, Destin, Daytona Beach, Pensacola, St. Augustine, Northeast Florida
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