ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA.
Celebrating and preserving 450 years of history
Take a windswept, beachside town, fold in a sprawling, 17th-century Spanish fortress, the Fountain of Youth and bragging rights as America’s oldest continuously occupied European settlement, and you’ve got St. Augustine, a gem of a place marking its 450th anniversary this year.
“We’re the nation’s oldest city,” says Dana Ste. Claire, 57, City of St. Augustine 450th commemoration director. “We’re celebrating the true, multicultural founding of America. It took place here, in 1565, decades before (the English colony in) Jamestown, Va., and a half century before Plymouth.”
As legend has it, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sailed from Spain to the New World in search of waters thought to have age-reversing powers. He may not have found his mythical fountain, (townsfolk marked a site at a natural spring in 1901 anyway),
but Ponce de León did find Florida, landing near what is now St. Augustine in 1513.
The heritage of this 13-squaremile town of 13,679 remains intact because locals, from shrimp boat captains and restaurateurs to artists and historians, make it a priority.
“Historic preservation is one of our basic tenants in this community,” says Ste. Claire. “It’s our identity.”
To celebrate their strong sense of self, St. Augustinians will honor their past and present Sept. 4-8 with four days of processions, fireworks, music, a commemorative mass and a really big cake during Celebrate 450! (staugustine450.com).
“It’s our hometown birthday party,” says Mayor Nancy Shaver, 68. “We’ll do it right.” Go to Parade.com/nationaltreasure to share your favorite National Treasure and to see more people, places & things that make America unique.