St. Augustine Government House

St. Augustine, Florida, although noted as the oldest city in the country, belonged to the Spanish beginning in 1565. Great Britain burned it to the ground several times in the intervening years. Finally, in 1763 or 1764 (depending on what you read), Spain ceded St. Augustine to the Kingdom of Great Britain in exchange for control of Havana, Cuba. Spain regained control of Florida after Great Britain lost in the American Revolution. Florida quickly became a burden to Spain for various reasons and Spain ceded it to President Madison in 1821. Florida became the 27th state in 1845. But the Spanish architectural influence remains obvious in old St. Augustine.

I took the following information verbatim from St. Augustine's website because how could I say it better?

"Since the late 16th century, Government House, located at the west end of the Plaza in downtown St. Augustine, has been a leading administrative center for the City. The earliest documented building on the Government House site was a residence built by Governor Gonzalo Mendez de Canzo about 1598. The laying out of the town conformed to a royal decree which stipulated that all Spanish towns must have a central plaza (which it has). Buildings, such as the church, government house and market were to face the Plaza.

The British took possession of Florida in 1764 but the building was not changed significantly until the Spanish returned to rule in 1784. Despite work done at that time, no governor lived in the house after Governor Enrique White died in 1811. His successors rented living quarters in town and the old building served as offices.

Following the cession of Florida to the United States in 1821, Government House was pressed into service as a courtroom. 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.

Government House continued to serve the city - as a courthouse, office building and post office. In 1891 it ceased to be the courthouse, but continued as the post office until 1965. In 1966 it was transferred by the federal government to the State of Florida. In recent years it has undergone extensive renovation and restoration and now houses the Government House Museum and offices of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board.


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