Dr. Bronson's St. Augustine History II

Dr. Bronson's St. Augustine History II History of St. Augustine and much more. The original Dr. Bronson's St. Augustine History page was started by Gil Wilson.

When Gil passed he took the secret of how to alter that page with him. This new page has been started to carry on with his vision. Please continue to use the original page for research.

During the Revolution honeybees as a model became applicable to the pernicious tax collectors of King George III, and be...
06/02/2026

During the Revolution honeybees as a model became applicable to the pernicious tax collectors of King George III, and beyond a natural social model of the tumultuous times bees where even used according to legend as a premature version of biological warfare or "bee-fare".
During the Revolution there are legends about how bees served their country. According to Tammy Horn, a young Quaker girl named Charity Crabtree was alerted of the imminent attack, and was asked to deliver the message to General George Washington. The wounded soldier who had delivered this message collapsed as a band of Red Coats descended upon the girl. Charity then jumped onto her horse and attempted to flee the onslaught of soldiers, realizing she could not outrun them she turned over her bee skeps which then attacked the soldiers. General Washington in then as quoted by Horn as saying that, "It was the cackling geese that saved Rome, but it is the bees that saved America" (Horn, 55).

There is mention of beehives being kept by the people in the Turnbull colony. In 1776 an attack by Indians resulted in the hives and other items being removed by the Indians after the colonists fled.

(Sources - Colonial Quills, Beverly Bees, Mullet on the Beach, Patricia C. Griffin)

A little too much celebrating in town !The St. Augustine Evening Record – April 2, 1900Municipal CourtThe disciples of B...
06/01/2026

A little too much celebrating in town !
The St. Augustine Evening Record – April 2, 1900
Municipal Court
The disciples of Bacchus figured largely in the proceedings of the police court this morning. The first called to trial was Jim Spears (colored). He plead guilty to the charge of intoxication and was fined $2 and cost or 8 days in jail.

J. M. Gardiner, arraigned on the charge of being drunk, was fined $2 and costs, in default of payment 8 days in jail.

D. W. Wright plead "guilty" to being intoxicated, ad was given his choice between paying $2 fine and the costs of the court, or 8 days in jail.

William Monson acknowledged his guilt when charged with carrying more corn juice than was good for him, and received the usual court prescription of $2 and cost..

John Gonyer, charged with a multitude of offenses such as fighting, cursing, resisting arrest, etc. did not appear to reply to the avalanche of charges, and his bond of $25 was estreated (forfeited).

H. Woodridge was an offender of the second magnitude, and forfeited a bond of $10 by not appearing to stand trial for breaking the city's laws by disorderly conduct.
(end)

Image – Bacchus With Glass by Jacob Mathom

How to keep haints (ghosts), away from the door.Haint blue is a pale shade of blue that is traditionally used to paint p...
05/31/2026

How to keep haints (ghosts), away from the door.
Haint blue is a pale shade of blue that is traditionally used to paint porch ceilings in the Southern United States. The tradition originated with the Gullah in Georgia and South Carolina, but has also been adopted by White Southerners. The pigment was sourced from crushed indigo plants. Indigo was a common source for haint blue prior to the American Revolution, when indigo was a common crop for plantations in the American South, but the tradition survived well after the decline in indigo cultivation.

Originally, haint blue was thought by the Gullah to ward haints, or ghosts, away from the home. The tactic was intended either to mimic the appearance of the sky, tricking the ghost into passing through, or to mimic the appearance of water, which ghosts traditionally could not cross. The Gullah would paint not only the porch, but also doors, window frames, and shutters. As Gullah culture mingled with White Southern culture, the custom became more widely practiced.

When blue paints were first used on ceilings, they were usually milk paints…that often had lye mixed into their composition. Lye is a known insect repellent, which would explain why insects would avoid nesting on a painted porch ceiling or ledge. As milk paint has a tendency to fade over time, people would usually need to repaint every few years, covering the existing coat with fresh paint—and fresh lye. But others theorize that insects prefer not to nest on blue ceilings because they are "fooled" into thinking the blue paint is actually the sky.

The use of haint blue has lost some of its superstitious significance, but modern proponents also cite the color as a spider and wasp-deterrent. Though the color has not actually been scientifically shown to stave off bugs.

• The word haint is an alternative spelling of haunt, which was historically used in African-American vernacular to refer to a ghost or, in the Hoodoo belief, a witch-like creature seeking to chase victims to their death by exhaustion. (Wiki)

Ed note - Source for pictures was a general Google search for "haint blue houses".

During the period of 1930-1950, in the midst of the Great Depression and outbreak of World War II, a dedicated group of ...
05/30/2026

During the period of 1930-1950, in the midst of the Great Depression and outbreak of World War II, a dedicated group of professional and amateur artists who formed the St. Augustine Art Association (originally the St. Augustine Arts Club) helped transform the historic town of St. Augustine, Florida, into a thriving winter art colony that attracted hundreds of American artists, many from the northern art colonies of Rockport, Provincetown, Woodstock, Ogunquit and others. The picture here is a linocut by Celia Cregor Reid, who was a member. (St. Augustine Art Association)

Celia Cregor Reid (1895 – 1956)
This painter and printmaker from Springfield, Kentucky, was trained in the United Kingdom and later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Institute and the Maryland Art Institute.

In 1926, Celia Gregor (sic) Reid moved to Saint Augustine, Florida, and became one of the leading members of the art colony. Beginning in 1935, Reid contributed her artistic talents to the production of the Saint Augustine street festivals.

This particular print commemorates the Aviles Street Festival held March 19-20, 1948. The theme of the festival was a “Day in Spain.” Reid served as the chairman of festival design and decoration.
(St. Augustine Art Association)

Background -In the 1870s Col. Wm. Henry Pratt was to oversee the prisoners of the Indian Wars, being held at Fort Marion...
05/28/2026

Background -
In the 1870s Col. Wm. Henry Pratt was to oversee the prisoners of the Indian Wars, being held at Fort Marion. On November 1, 1879, he founded the Carlisle Indian Industrial School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the first of many off-reservation boarding schools for Native Americans.

In May 2016 the Northern Arapaho and the Sicangu Lakota met with Army representatives to discuss the repatriation of their children buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School cemetery. The Army agreed to voluntarily send these children home and pay for their exhumation, transport, and internment.

Thus began the first known boarding school repatriation effort in U.S. history.

September 27, 2024 the Seminole Nation delegation now prepares the journey to take Albert Mekko back home.

Read the article for more information.

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma -
Albert Mekko is coming home.
In 1879, Albert Mekko (Seminole) attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He died in 1881 and was buried in the school cemetery where he remained for 143 years until today.

On September 27th, a delegation from the Seminole Nation and descendants of Albert traveled to the school as part of a “multi-phase disinterment project” by the U.S. Office of Army Cemeteries, along with archaeological and anthropological expertise from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In a 3 day emotional process that involved consultation meetings, disinterment and confirmation of the remains, visits to view school archives, traditional songs and private ceremonies, the Seminole Nation delegation now prepares the journey to bring Albert back home.

Today is September 30th, "Wear Orange Day", a National Day of Remembrance for the Indigenous children whose lives were lost while attending residential and boarding schools. The staff that attended the transfer ceremony today wore orange in solidarity.

Another Seminole student is still buried in the Carlisle school cemetery and plans are being made to bring him back to his home and family.

Seminole Nation Media documented this historic journey at the approval of the family.

SEMINOLE HISTORY STORIES - NOVEMBER 2025 THE SEMINOLE WAR: “BILLY BOWLEG’S WAR” Hollata Micco, who the Americans knew as...
05/27/2026

SEMINOLE HISTORY STORIES - NOVEMBER 2025
THE SEMINOLE WAR: “BILLY BOWLEG’S WAR” Hollata Micco, who the Americans knew as “Billy Bowlegs,” was a veteran of the war, the head of a prominent town, and a respected leader who helped keep the Seminole Tribe together after the United States declared the “Florida War” over. He spent the following decade working to ease relations and find a place for the tribe in the new Florida. He found common cause with the American Indian Agent, Captain John C. Casey. The two agreed that it was possible for the Seminole to remain in Florida and made these arguments to the federal government.

Despite this, Indian Removal remained the position in Washington. One of the strongest proponents was Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War, who would be the president of the Confederate States of America six years later. Davis directed the Army to pressure the Seminole, looking to either convince them to leave, or spark an incident that could be used to justify war.

The pressure campaign proved to be a success. In December of 1855, an Army patrol deep in Seminole territory vandalized and looted a Seminole camp. They woke up later that week to a Seminole attack. Only three of the American soldiers survived. In response, the United States declared the third Seminole War. The military had learned the lesson of the Florida War, and was for combat in the wetlands environment. With less than a thousand Seminole still in Florida, and new American tactics, the war would only last three years.

(To see more Seminole History Stories, please visit the THPO website at www.stofthpo.com)

Image - Billy Bowlegs - FL Memory

Casa De Cannonosa – The Tovar House – 22 St. Francis StreetThe infantryman Jose Tovar lived on this corner in 1763. The ...
05/26/2026

Casa De Cannonosa – The Tovar House – 22 St. Francis Street
The infantryman Jose Tovar lived on this corner in 1763. The original site and size of his house remained unchanged during the British period, when John Johnson, a Scottish merchant lived here.
After the Spanish returned in 1784, Jose Coruna, a Canary Islander with his family, and Tomas Caraballo, an assistant surgeon, occupied the house.

Geronimo Alvarez, who lived next door in the Gonzalez-Alvarez House, purchased the property in 1791. It remained in his family until 1871. A later occupant was Civil War General Martin D. Hardin, USA.
The Tovar House has been owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society since 1918." (UNF)

Images - Historic American Buildings Survey

The story of the cannonball has been part of the houses' story for 125 years. The tale is that during renovation of the coquina building in the early 1890s two cannonballs were found embedded in the east wall. To make the cannonball more obvious and visible and thus add it to the history of St. Augustine, it was attached to the exterior wall.

The accompanying explanation said that the cannonball had been fired from artillery placed on Anastasia Island during the British attack led by Gen. James Oglethorpe in the summer of 1740. In the late 1800s, Oglethorpe's foray at Spanish Florida's capital was invoked to explain much of St. Augustine's history.

Oglethorpe's attack was among the better known of the important events of St. Augustine's history. St. Augustine residents relied on stories that had been retold many times for the city's history and possibly on two published histories of our town: William W. Dewhurst's "The History of Saint Augustine, Florida" (1881,1985) and George R. Fairbanks's "The History of Antiquities of the city of St. Augustine, Florida, Founded A.D. 1565" (1858). Both books included Oglethorpe's activities.

When William Keith found buried religious silver sacramental items on his property on Oneida Street in the 1870s, he attributed the cache to persons trying to hide and protect the sacred pieces from Oglethorpe's attack. (Some of the items unearthed at Keith's property are currently exhibited at the Mission of Nombre de Dios Museum.) The same event was invoked to explain the cannonball. Perhaps someone suggested that the cannonball had lodged in the wall during Oglethorpe's fusillades and the story stuck - just like the cannonball.
Stories made up of a small amount of truth and a lot of imagination abounded here in late 1800s and early 20th century. The Gonzalez-Alvarez House National Historic Landmark (Oldest House) at 14 St. Francis St. advertised that the building, then a private residence, had been "occupied by the Monks of St. Francis from 1565 to 1590." Today, we can be document the house to the middle of the 1720s. . .
We should not be too harsh on the Victorian-era residents of St. Augustine. Yes, they boldly fabricated stories. After all, everyone loves a good story. If it can boost income, that's even better. Often, the St. Augustinians of long ago were trying to fill the knowledge gaps to explain the buildings or artifacts, but without the historical resources that are available to us today.

(Susan Parker / St. Augustine Record 2016)

Memorial Day - Honoring the Fallen
05/25/2026

Memorial Day - Honoring the Fallen

The Indian and the Lily - by George Deforest Brush, 1887. Painted in St. Augustine during the time when Apaches were hel...
05/23/2026

The Indian and the Lily - by George Deforest Brush, 1887.
Painted in St. Augustine during the time when Apaches were held at Fort Marion (n/k/a Castillo de San Marcos).

Eligio De la Puente was born in St. Augustine on 1 July 1724, the third of eight children. His parents were Antonio Nico...
05/22/2026

Eligio De la Puente was born in St. Augustine on 1 July 1724, the third of eight children. His parents were Antonio Nicolás Eligio de la Puente, a native of Havana, Cuba, and Agustina Regidor, whose family had lived in St. Augustine for many years.

He began his service to the Spanish crown about 1739, when he entered the Spanish army as an infantry cadet.[2]

On 5 February 1747, he married María Sánchez,[6] with whom he had at least six children who were born in the town. The family lived between Marine and Charlotte Streets just south of the Plaza de la Constitución, according to his own map of the city.[7] De la Puente and his family later became prominent in Cuba. His sons included a military officer, a royal accountant, and a priest. [Wiki}

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