St. Johns County is one of Florida's two
original counties established July 21,
1821, when Florida became a United
States territory. The area's history
goes back even further. St. Augustine,
the county seat, is the oldest
continuously-occupied European
settlement and port in the contiguous
United States. It was founded by the
Spanish in 1565.
St. Augustine recently celebrated
its 450th anniversary. Since it was
established, it was controlled by these
countries:
- Spanish (1565-1763)
- British (1763-1783)
- Spanish again (1783-1821)
- United States (1821-1861)
- Confederate States (1861-1865)
- United States (1865-present)
The
settlement of St. Augustine was
destroyed a number of times during its
first two centuries making research for
that period a challenge. Our area is
also home to the first
legally-sanctioned community for freed
slaves in what is now the United States.
