History

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Washing Away History: Changing Tides At Fort Mose

More than 250 years ago, Fort Mose in St. Augustine, Florida, became the first legally sanctioned free Black town in the present-day United States. Now a Historic State Park, it is a critically significant site for Black American history.

Registration is free, but required: ufl.to/climateftmose

This virtual panel event, first in a two-part series, will discuss the historical and cultural significance of Fort Mose, as well as the ways in which its interpretation and advocacy have impacted the site over time.

Panelists for this event are:
+ Dr. Jane Landers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
+ Dr. Jane Mahoney, Executive Director, Fort Mose Historical Society
+ Darcie MacMahon, Director of Exhibits and Public Programs, University of Florida’s Florida Museum of Natural History
+ James Bullock, local St. Augustine interpreter and actor

This virtual event is brought to you by the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, and Florida Museum of Natural History. This event is part of the Resilience: Black Heritage in St. Augustine collaborative project.

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Flight to Freedom

The Flight to Freedom Encounter
May 6, 7, 8
Fort Mose Historic State Park, 15 Fort Mose Trail, St. Augustine, FL

Freedom Trail journeys begin daily at 9 am. Final tour begins at 3 pm.
Park capacity is significantly reduced due to COVID —Admission will be limited
Masks recommended / Social distancing required

Did you know?
Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, was the destination of the original Underground Railroad, running south. It was home to the first legally sanctioned free Black community in North America!

As you step onto the Freedom Trail, you enter the year 1738. You’re drawn into a dangerous world where freedom seekers flee from enslavement on English plantations, hoping to live as free men, women, and children at Fort Mose.

The Flight to Freedom event is open to the general public at no cost. Donations and Memberships are gratefully accepted.

Please visit www.fortmose.org often for event updates.

Flight to Freedom is supported in part by a Visitor Experience grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and by a State of the Arts Grant made possible by the St. Johns Cultural Council, with invaluable assistance from Castillo de San Marcos and St. Augustine Garrison.

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Flight to Freedom

The Flight to Freedom Encounter
May 6, 7, 8
Fort Mose Historic State Park, 15 Fort Mose Trail, St. Augustine, FL

Freedom Trail journeys begin daily at 9 am. Final tour begins at 3 pm.
Park capacity is significantly reduced due to COVID —Admission will be limited
Masks recommended / Social distancing required

Did you know?
Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, was the destination of the original Underground Railroad, running south. It was home to the first legally sanctioned free Black community in North America!

As you step onto the Freedom Trail, you enter the year 1738. You’re drawn into a dangerous world where freedom seekers flee from enslavement on English plantations, hoping to live as free men, women, and children at Fort Mose.

The Flight to Freedom event is open to the general public at no cost. Donations and Memberships are gratefully accepted.

Please visit www.fortmose.org often for event updates.

Flight to Freedom is supported in part by a Visitor Experience grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and by a State of the Arts Grant made possible by the St. Johns Cultural Council, with invaluable assistance from Castillo de San Marcos and St. Augustine Garrison.

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 by [email protected]

Flight to Freedom

The Flight to Freedom Encounter
May 6, 7, 8
Fort Mose Historic State Park, 15 Fort Mose Trail, St. Augustine, FL

Freedom Trail journeys begin daily at 9 am. Final tour begins at 3 pm.
Park capacity is significantly reduced due to COVID —Admission will be limited
Masks recommended / Social distancing required

Did you know?
Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose, was the destination of the original Underground Railroad, running south. It was home to the first legally sanctioned free Black community in North America!

As you step onto the Freedom Trail, you enter the year 1738. You’re drawn into a dangerous world where freedom seekers flee from enslavement on English plantations, hoping to live as free men, women, and children at Fort Mose.

The Flight to Freedom event is open to the general public at no cost. Donations and Memberships are gratefully accepted.

Please visit www.fortmose.org often for event updates.

Flight to Freedom is supported in part by a Visitor Experience grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council and by a State of the Arts Grant made possible by the St. Johns Cultural Council, with invaluable assistance from Castillo de San Marcos and St. Augustine Garrison.

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Villa Zorayda Museum’s Christmas Tree Lighting Holiday Tour

Join the Villa Zorayda Museum this Holiday Season for a special Christmas experience. Due to Covid19, we are unable to continue our annual “Candlelight Tours” this year, but visitors will still be able to tour the Museum and view our beautiful Christmas display in a unique way. The Villa is beautifully decorated for the Holidays with decorations throughout the Museum and a spectacular Christmas Tree, decorated in the colors of the Zorayda – red and gold – is located center stage in the Court of Lions. Victorian and traditional decorations are found in every room of the Museum for our visitors to enjoy. Over 100 candles are aglow throughout the Museum as you take a state of the art audio guided tour of this historic former home.

These special tours are on select evenings during St. Augustine’s “Nights of Lights” celebration and include a grand Lighting of the Christmas Tree. Doors open at 5:00 pm and tickets are on a first come first serve basis. Tour at your own pace. You can begin your audio guided tour at anytime. Last admission will be at 5:30 pm or when capacity has been met. To keep our visitors and staff comfortable and safe, a limited number of guests will be allowed for this event. At the appropriate time, guests will begin taking their socially distant places around the upper and lower balconies of the Museum in preparation for the big event. Delight in the beauty of Christmas as the Museum goes dark and the dramatic Lighting of the Christmas Tree begins with each floor in the Museum gradually coming back to light. Continue your audio tour at your leisure until the Museum closes at 6:30 pm.

This tour requires standing and walking for the duration of the tour. There is no elevator inside the Villa Zorayda Museum. This tour is approximately 60 minutes and includes an overview of the history of the Villa Zorayda, its previous owners, and the art and antique collection inside.

2020 Tour Dates:

Friday, November 20th
Saturday, November 21st
Friday, November 27th
Saturday, November 28th
Saturday, December 5th
Friday, December 11th
Saturday, December 19th
Saturday, December 26th
Sunday, December 27th
Monday, December 28th
Wednesday, December 30th
Saturday, January 2nd, 2021

Doors open at 5:00 pm and tickets are on a first come first serve basis. Last admission will be at 5:30 pm or when capacity has been met. Adult Admission is $14.95. Children 7 – 12 are $6.95. All prices subject to 6.5% sales tax. Audio guide included and is available in English, Spanish and French. Reservations are suggested, but not required. To make reservations, please contact the Museum at (904)-829-9887.

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Noche de Festival

Noche de Festival is a spectacular party showcasing the sights, sounds and tastes of St. Augustine’s Spanish heritage. Held in the Pavilion at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 6:30pm.

Featuring Spanish tapas and sangria, traditional music and entertainment, and a dinner of Spanish paella prepared on site. Wear your finest Renaissance or cocktail attire.

Tickets: $60 — click on the event website link to purchase.

Part of Festival de San Agustin, a week long celebration of St. Augustine’s Spanish Heritage presented by The Historic Florida Militia.

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Villa Zorayda Museum’s Candlelight Tours

Join the Villa Zorayda Museum this upcoming Holiday Season for their 10th Annual “Candlelight Tours” of the Museum which are offered on select evenings during St. Augustine’s “Nights of Lights” Celebration. The Villa Zorayda Museum showcases beautiful Christmas decorations for the Holidays. A spectacular Christmas Tree decorated in the colors of the Zorayda – red and gold – is located center stage in the central “Court of Lions”. Over 100 candles are aglow throughout the Museum as docents lead you on your tour of the historic former home. These specialty tours have become one of the most popular things to do during St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights Celebration.

Candlelight Tours typically last about 1.5 hours and include an in depth overview of the history of the Villa Zorayda, its previous owners, and the art and antique collection inside. The Museum features the priceless antique collections of both previous owners, Franklin Smith and A.S. Mussallem. It was built in 1883 by Smith and it set a precedence for architecture in St. Augustine during the GIlded Age.

Refreshments of homemade Christmas cookies and punch, included with Select Candlelight Tour Dates.
Reservations are highly recommended as space is limited. Please call the Museum at 904-829-9887.

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Battle of Bloody Mose

Every year, the Florida Living History, Inc. and the Fort Mose Historical Society reenact the 1740 Spanish victory at the Battle of Bloody Mose. Visitors can participate in the commemoration of the battle and enjoy reenactments of the 1740 battle that forced the British to retreat from Spanish Florida. The reenactments will take place at 12 pm and 2 pm, but there will be activities throughout the day like musket demonstrations and craft-making – like blacksmithing, finger weaving, and pine needle basket weaving. The event is free and open to the public.
www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-mose-historic-state-park

 

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Lightner After Hours: Sensational Summertime

A free monthly social event, where guests enjoy an early evening of music by talented local musicians’ Raisin Cake Orchestra, cocktails, light appetizers, and the elegant surroundings of The Lightner Museum lobby and first-floor exhibition galleries. This event is free and open to the public. Guests may enter through the Granada Street courtyard entrance (across from Lewis Auditorium).

www.lightnermuseum.org/cocktail

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Florida Transportation History: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (& Steamboats too!)

To finish our esteemed speaker’s series, the Lightner Museum is pleased to welcome Dr. Noll from the University of Florida to give audiences an opportunity to more fully understand how transportation played a pivotal part in the development of Florida. This history as territory and state can be told through the changing methods of transportation designed to move people and goods both to Florida and within Florida. Examining the changing transportation networks in the state, this presentation shows how Florida moved from a backwoods frontier to one of the most important states in the union. Tying transportation history to social history, this presentation moves from Bellamy Road of the 1820s to the modern transportation issues facing Florida in the 21st century. This is a free event. Registration is required and can be made online at LightnerMuseum.org.

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