WINSTON WEEKLY

October 4, 2026

Vol. 4, No. 40

SPANISH ROOTS[1]

Spanish explorer Don Juan Ponce was the first European to reach what was initially named La Florida. More than fifty years later, St. Augustine, Florida was founded by Don Pedro Menendez de Avile. The oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine is known as the birthplace of American history.  Less than 25 years after its founding, the city was burned by Sir Francis Drake, the English corsair. Branded a pirate by the Spanish, he was referred to as El Draque (“The Dragon”).

After decades of turbulence, Queen Regent Mariana of Spain ordered the construction of a stone fort in St. Augustine in 1669 to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route. Made of coquina, a porous shell-stone rock, Castillo De San Marcos is now part of the National Park Foundation. Featuring some of the original bronze canons, the 20-acre property was purchased by the United States in 1821. During its use by the United States Army until 1899, it was referred to as Fort Marion.

St. George Street remains at the heart of St. Augustine, with numerous Spanish sites along and beyond the route. The Spanish Military Hospital Museum includes a rich history of traditional herbal medicines, the foundation for many of today’s modern medicines. Murals and Tiffany windows are plentiful at the main building of Flagler College, formerly Hotel Ponce de Leon. The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, a red cedar and cypress building, offers visitors a unique perspective of school life in the 1700’s.

THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITY From the early life of the Spanish settlers to the disruption of Indigenous populations, learn more about the history of America’s oldest city. The Settling of St. Augustine by Susan Malony Clinton explores the city’s founding and the many setbacks. Sixteenth-Century St. Augustine: The People and Their Homes by Albert Manucy includes in-depth details of the first Spanish colonists along with rich illustrations. Numerous other books are often available through many local lib

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[1] Winston Weekly is a weekly blog and newsletter by Alysen Bayles of Bayles Connect: “Learn, live, love, read.” Resources: Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Florida; www.floridapress.org; City of St. Augustine, www.citystaug.com.