Death in the Oldest House

Thursday October 9
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Oct. 5) Over the centuries, death has been a frequent visitor to St. Augustine’s Oldest House. On Thursday, October 19, visitors to the venerable home will get to see a rare re-enactment of funeral and mourning customs of Spanish and British colonial residents. Featuring living tableaux of two colonial-era funerals and tours of the house, this event provides a look at history from an unusual perspective at a time of year traditionally associated with death. The tours begin at 7 p.m. with the last departing at 8:30 p.m. Admission for the event is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and active duty military, $4 for ages 6-18 and college students; and $3 for St. Johns County residents.
Located at 14 St. Francis Street, the Oldest House is more formerly known as the Gonzalez-Alvarez House. The oldest surviving Spanish Colonial dwelling in Florida, the current structure dates to the early 1700s, but the site has been occupied since the 1600s. The earliest documented funeral to take place in the house occurred in 1727 as a result of the death of the infant son of Spanish artilleryman Tomas Gonzalez and his wife Francisca de Guevara.
The house is maintained and operated by the St. Augustine Historical Society, the oldest continuously operating museum and historical society in Florida. The Oldest House has been open to visitors since 1893.
For more information on “Death in the Oldest House,” contact the Historical Society at 904.824.2872 or go to www.oldesthouse.org . For St. Augustine Hotels