Saint Augustine, FL 1 of 110 Active Retirement Communities Location


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Saint Augustine, FL 1 of 110 Active Retirement Communities Location

Ivan Gillis

Active Retirement Communities

State: Florida

City: Saint Augustine

St. Augustine is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565, it is the oldest continuously occupied European established city, and the oldest port, in the continental United States. St. Augustine lies in a region of Florida known as The First Coast, which extends from Amelia Island in the north, south to Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Palm Coast. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 11,592; in 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that its population had reached 12,157. St. Augustine is the headquarters for the Florida National Guard.

The vicinity of St. Augustine was first explored in 1513 by Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon who was then the governor of nearby Puerto Rico. Ponce de Leon claimed the region for the Spanish crown. Prior to the founding of St. Augustine in 1565, several earlier failed attempts at European colonization in what is now Florida were made by both Spain and France. Amongst the Spanish attempts to settle the area was one by Tristán de Luna y Arellano in 1559 in the Pensacola area.

There were no permanent organized non-Spanish settlements in the Americas for several decades. St. Augustine remained the sole European settlement in the continental United States and a forward outpost guarding the Spanish Americas. Its importance to Spain in helping to crush any Protestant and non-Spanish settlements along the Atlantic coasts in turn caused it to be the focus of competing Protestant and European interests. Therefore, French and later English attacks were later made on St. Augustine which came to represent in the eyes of the Protestant countries the epitome of Catholic cruelty and ambition. Thus, first the Protestant French and later the English made attacks and even occupations of St. Augustine.

Florida was a United States territory until 1845 when it became a U.S. state. In 1861, the American Civil War began and Florida seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Days before Florida seceded, state troops took the fort at St. Augustine from a small Union garrison (one soldier) on January 7, 1861. However, federal troops loyal to the United States government reoccupied the city on March 11, 1862 and remained in control throughout the four-year-long war. In 1865, Florida rejoined the United States.

the era when the city celebrated its 400th birthday) as well as elite 19th century architecture. The St. Augustine Alligator Farm, incorporated in 1908, is one of the oldest commercial tourist attractions in Florida, as is the Fountain of Youth, which dates from the same time period. In 1938 the world's first oceanarium (because the term was coined for it), Marineland, opened just south of St. Augustine, becoming one of Florida's first theme parks and setting the stage for the development of this industry in the following decades. The city is one terminus of the Old Spanish Trail, a promotional effort of the 1920s linking St. Augustine to San Diego, California with 3000 miles of roadways.

In addition to being a major tourist destination and oldest European-settled city in the continental United States, St. Augustine was also a pivotal site for the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 and 1964.

undreds of black and white civil-rights supporters were arrested and the jails were filled to over-flowing. At the request of Dr. Hayling and Dr. King, white civil-rights supporters from the north, including students, clergy, and well-known public figures came to St. Augustine and were themselves arrested. The KKK responded with violent attacks that were widely reported in national and inter-national media. Popular revulsion against the Klan violence generated national sympathy for the black protesters and became a key factor in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In modern times, St. Augustine has mostly been spared the wrath of tropical cyclones. The only direct hit was Hurricane Dora, which came ashore just after midnight on September 10, 1964. Hurricane Donna in 1960, and unnamed hurricanes in 1944 and 1950 also affected the area.

Income & Housing Costs Numbers:

Estimated median household income in 2008: $43,310 (it was $32,358 in 2000)

St. Augustine:	$43,310
Florida:	$47,778

Estimated per capita income in 2008: $27,305

Estimated median house or condo value in 2008: $255,066 (it was $111,800 in 2000)

St. Augustine:	$255,066
Florida:	$218,700

Mean prices in 2008: All housing units: $361,573; Detached houses: $347,744; Townhouses or other attached units: $412,936; In 2-unit structures: $404,489; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $627,063; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $197,154; Mobile homes: $29,100; Occupied boats, RVs, vans, etc.: $65,000

Dec. 2009 cost of living index in St. Augustine: 93.2 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

· Climate Charts

1. Average Temperature

2. Precipitation (Rain)

3. Humidity

4. Wind Speed (MPH)

5. Snowfall

6. Sunshine

7. Cloudy Days

· Tornado Activity History

· Hospitals & Medical