Government House Museum

Address:48 King St.
St. Augustine, Florida
Tel: (904) 825-5033

Oh, if these walls could talk! Check out the Government House Museum in downtown St. Augustine and explore the region's history in a building that was already old when Florida was a still a Spanish colony. The Government House Museum features over 300 artifacts, which include treasure from Spanish shipwrecks, Native American artifacts and military and religious items.

The earliest documented building on the Government House site was a residence built by Spanish Governor Gonzalo Mendez de Canzo about 1598. The building served as the governor's residence until the 1680s, when it was replaced by a two-story building with balconied masonry walls. The residence was burned in 1702 by British troops after their unsuccessful siege of the Castillo. There has been no governor living in the house since 1811, but since then it has served as a courthouse, office building, post office and a museum. Another interesting fact: Following the cession of Florida to the United States in 1821, when territorial governor William P. Duval needed quarters for his Legislative Council meeting in May 1823, that room was commandeered, and briefly, the ancient walls again housed Florida's Capital.