March 4, 2021
The Governor's House Cultural Center and Museum stands today where many Spanish and British colonial government houses have stood. The first was completed in 1598 for the Spanish governor of Florida. It served both as his home and the government building of the capital, St. Augustine. The building that stands today became a courthouse after Spain gave Florida to the United States in 1821. It later became a post office and customs house for ships entering the harbor in 1937. Besides the location, the only remnants of the colonial Governors' houses are the old coquina stone walls. Though they do not know how old the stone walls are, they could have been from the First Spanish Period. The St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission--established to "direct research, acquire, construct, restore, and preserve with funds appropriated by the state"--took ownership of the building in 1959 and it no longer served as a post office or government building. In 1989, the building was put under jurisdiction of the University of Florida, where they still use it as a library to access, curate, and catalogue 980 boxes of archeological research done by the Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission. The University of Florida's mission at the Government House is "to ensure long-term preservation and interpretation of state-owned historic properties in St. Augustine while facilitating an educational program at the University of Florida... responsive to the state's needs for professionals in historic preservation, archaeology, cultural resource management, cultural tourism, and museum administration and...[to] help meet needs of St. Augustine and the state through educational internships and programs."
Click Here to access the Governor's House website where I obtained this information and where you can read further about this fascinating site.
Artifact 1: Religious Medallions, Rosary Beads, and Crosses
In this display case are religious medallions, rosary beads and crosses, amulets, sharp instruments for self-inflicted penitence, and burial shroud pins. The Government House has hundreds of interesting artifacts from the Spanish colonial period that illustrate what life was like in St. Augustine. For the Spaniards, Catholicism was a crucial aspect of their identity. One of their main objectives in colonizing the new world was the conversion of native peoples to Catholicism.
Artifact 2: Spanish Treasure
They also had Spanish coins and jewelry in the collection. These were often made in the Americas to be shipped off to Spain. They show how the Natives' lives became entwined with the Spanish way of life. The Spanish traded beads, precious metals, and other ornamental items with them. Natives also gathered precious metals the Spanish lost or left behind to create ornamentation and utilitarian objects.
Photos of Exterior
Photos in conversation with this site:
This photo belongs to the University of Florida, and captures the Governor's house in 1764. Elsbeth Gordon was the creator of this image. Though it looks like a photograph, it must have been a watercolor or ink illustration since it was created in the 18th century.
(image source link: http://staugustine.ufl.edu/govHouse-photos.html )
This photo belongs to the St. Augustine Historical Society, and captures the Government house 100 years later, in 1864. A photographer in the Union Army--named Samuel A. Cooley--took this photo.
(image source link: http://staugustine.ufl.edu/govHouse-photos.html )
Creative Component
This phrase was displayed in bold letters over an exhibit on the Governor's House first floor. It stuck out to me and I felt it fully captured the mission of the Government House in St. Augustine's community. I made a collage out of the types of artifacts the Government House preserves and collects for future generations. I included a map of colonial Florida, a postcard, a colonial-era letter, an old illustration of St. Augustine, and an old photograph of the plaza.
ENG 202 Connection:
"'Why he had gone to live with the Indians Max could not explain, except to say that he wanted a free life and they had it... Some men went to the Indians because they were lazy, physically and morally, and saw in these simple people a chance to satisfy all their appetites with a minimum of effort. But Max hardly belonged to that class... It was not laziness, and it was not romanticism. He never thought the Indians were 'noble' or children of a lost paradise. While it was true that the old life was much cleaner than the present existence, it was still hard for a white man to stomach..."
-D'Arcy McNickle, The Surrounded (p. 41-42)
This passage is a bleak portrayal of Native/European relations during the age of exploration. Similarly, the Spanish coins and jewelry (Artifact 2) give us a physical representation of cultural exchange in St. Augustine between the Spanish and indigenous peoples. Both sides were wary of each other and both came with misconceptions. Combining a personal narrative like McNickle's with physical evidence gives us a more complete understanding of this complex dynamic.
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