Tolomato Cemetery

14 Cordova Street, St. Augustine, Fl 
Thursday, February 25th, 2021

The Tolomato Cemetery was in use from the 18th century until 1884. This one-acre space is the resting place of some 1,000 St. Augustine residents. It has seen St. Augustine through the First and Second Spanish Periods, the British Period, and Statehood Periods. Its rich history is connected with the burials of many different groups, all part of St. Augustine. Residents originally from Spain, Cuba, Italy, Ireland, France, Greece, and Haiti. As well as Minorcans, which were a mixed group from Corsica, Menorca, Greece, Sicily, and Italy. For more information on the Tolomato Cemetery, please visit: Tolomato Cemetery Preservation Association. 

Exterior I:

Entrance to Cemetery

As it is a resting place for many past residents, the Tolomato Cemetery has limited entry. It is open to the public on the third Saturday of each month. 

Exterior II:

Although there are around 100 marked graves, it is believed that there are 1,000 burials on the Tolomato cemetery. 

Artifact I:

Chapel built for Father Félix Varela

Venerable Félix Varela y Morales was a Cuban, Catholic priest who grew up in St. Augustine. He advocated for the independence of Latin America from the Spanish crown, and the abolition of slavery in Cuba. For this, he was sentenced to death in Spain but fled to New York. There, he advocated for human rights and education and founded the Church of the Immigrant. In 1853, he died in St. Augustine and is being considered for canonization in the Catholic Church. 

Artifact II:

Frank Papy's Grave

Frank Papy was a veteran who once served in the Union Army. He was part of the United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T). 

In Conversation:

Unitarian Cemetery, Charleston, SC

Entrance to cemetery

Interior view of overgrown tombstone

Source: Robin Jarvis

This graveyard belongs to the Unitarian Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The building was finished in 1776. However, the graveyard was not added until the 1830s. The pathways are maintained for visitors but the plots and graves are beautifully overrun by vines, shrubs, and trees. The untended grounds are intentional as they are meant to symbolize life after death. 

The difference between the Tolomato and Unitarian Cemeteries is drastic, both in their histories and appearance. It is interesting how the cultures surrounding them influenced their presentation.

ENG 202 Connection:

I followed dream tracks in the desert,
where there’s no spring, no mercy, only this


mass migration towards your refuge.
My love, I walked amongst labor
that global capital forgot, traversed bridges
of bones, and witnessed populations


collapse around me, with the hope
to become your citizen.
-Love Poem in a Time of Climate Change (Sonnet II), (3-10), Craig Santos Perez

The Tolomato Cemetery is the resting place for many different groups that lived in St. Augustine. However, the groups have in common the fact that their ancestors or themselves came from far away places. Santos Perez reflects on the idea of following dreams even when there is no mercy and seeing massive loss even though there is a bit of survival.

Creative Component:

Much like the Unitarian Cemetery, Tolomato has its unique beauty. Through this collection of pictures, the haunting charm of the cemetery is shown. The bright colors of the images juxtapose the concept of death and grief that is usually connected to cemeteries.

St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine

Saint George Street, Saint Augustine, Florida
Thursday, February 18, 2021

The St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine is dedicated to the first Greeks in America, who came to St. Augustine in 1768 and the refugees of the New Smyrna colony in 1777. It is located in the Avero House of St. George Street, where it had been a refuge to the survivors of the New Smyrna Colony who escaped indentured servitude. The shrine also serves as a museum to tell the story of the Menorcan, Corsican, Greek, and Italian, survivors. Collectively the group is called the Menorcans or Minorcans. To learn more please visit: stphotios.org

Artifact I:

St. Photios Chapel

The St. Photios Chapel is surrounded by Byzantine icons and frescoes. After a 1974 excavation of 32,000 artifacts by the University of Florida, the house was reconstructed in 1979. In 1982, it was officially opened by Archbishop Iakovos and the chapel was consecrated in 1985. 

Closer look at Altar

Artifact II:

Gold Reliquary

This gold reliquary holds the bone fragments of 18 saints of the ancient Christian Church. It was a gift given to the St. Photios Shrine in 1984 by the Three Hierarchs Church in Brooklyn, New York. The Vatican provided documents of authenticity certifying the bone fragments. 

Exterior I:

St. Photios is located at 41 St. George Street, after passing Cuna Street. 

Exterior II:

The house was originally constructed in 1749 by the Avero family. Later, refugees from the New Smyrna colony gathered here for worship. These survivors were originally brought from Greece, Sicily, Italy, Corsica, and Menorca. Their descendants remain in St. Augustine. 

In Conversation:

St. George Street Marker

Source: St. George Street Marker

The city of St. Augustine and local Menorcans continue to celebrate Minorcan heritage and culture. The city commemorates the Menorcans by placing this marker with their history and highlighting this statement by Menorcan descendant Steven Vincent Benet: "They came here, they toiled here, they suffered many pains, they lived here, they died here, they left singing names."

Menorcan descendants

Source: St. Augustine Record 

The Menorcan Cultural Society holds the Menorcan Heritage Celebration to share food, dances, songs, stories, photos, and crafts with each other and the public. Celebrating and sharing heritage is crucial to ensure that history and traditions survive. For more information, please visit menorcansociety.net. 

ENG 202 Connection:

His mind dwelt on wonder. "We got to plan something. We won't let it end for you, like you thought. We'll make a new beginning!"

-The Surrounded, (159), D'Arcy McNickle

Much like Max's and Archilde's excitement for a fresh start in a new place, the Menorcans embraced the chance of new opportunities far away from their homes. However, Archilde never gets to leave home and the Menorcans arrived in the New Smyrna colony to find diseases and abuses. The initial eagerness to begin anew overlaps Archilde's idea of moving to Europe to study music and the Menorcan's to provide for their families. 

Creative Component:

The Greek Orthodox Shrine had many artifacts and art that were worth photographing. This collage contains only a few of the many pictures of that day but that would not fit the previous components but are still powerful and worth including. These include the Menorcan men from the New Smyrna Colony and the Greek woman who portrays what Greek women would wear at this time. 

Oldest House Museum Complex, Richard Twine

Saint Augustine, Florida
February 11th, 2021

Located at 14 St. Francis Street, the Oldest House Museum Complex is owned and managed by the St. Augustine Historical Society. The house is a reflection of the Spanish, British, and American occupation periods. For more information, please visit: St. Augustine Historical Society. 

Artifact I:

Inside of lower level, 

The building's lower level represents the First Spanish Colonial period. 

Artifact II:

Unidentified Woman, Richard Twine

Richard Twine was a photographer who had his studio at 62 Washington Street. The surviving pictures capture Lincolnville in the early 1920s. 

Exterior I:

 Llambias House

Exterior II:

Tovar House

In Conversation:

Palace Market, Lincolnville

Source: Richard Twine

This photograph is from the Palace Market, a grocery store in Lincolnville owned by Frank Butler. The picture is by Richard Twine who had his studio nearby and portrayed the success and glory of Lincolnville at the time. 

Llambias House

Source: Florida Memory

This is an image of the Llambias House in 1952, before restorations. 

ENG 202 Connection:

"I could recall feeling relief at seeing the house, feeling that I had come home. And having to stop and correct myself that I was in an alien, dangerous place."

-Kindred, (190), Octavia E. Butler

Although in the context of this novel Dana is in a dangerous place in the plantation house she is describing, one can explore the feeling of home and belonging a building can provide. The long history of the Llambias and Tovar houses demonstrates, that even if one is in an unforgiving space, time, and habit can provide the feeling of home Dana describes. 

Creative Component:

This collage contains a picture of photographer Richard Twine, the artist whose work demonstrates the life and vibrancy of Lincolnville. Also shown are pictures and artifacts from the Tovar and Llambias Houses as they did not fit before. It is important to include them as they form a part of history that is usually not thought about. 

Downtown St. Augustine, Frederick Douglass marker, Monson Motor Lodge

St. Augustine, Florida 
Thursday, February 4th, 2021

The Frederick Douglass marker is placed on one of St. Augustine's most active streets with the opportunity of high visibility. However, as St. George Street is normally bustling with tourists and businesses, the marker is often passed by without much notice. Similarly, the Monson Motor Lodge pool and marker are now within the site of the Hilton Historic Bayfront Hotel and go overlooked. 

Artifact I:

Frederick Douglass marker

This marker is located in St. George Street, in honor of Frederick Douglass, who spoke on this site on April 7th, 1889. Douglass was born into slavery. Still, he taught himself and other enslaved people how to read. After escaping, he became an active and vocal leader in the abolitionist cause. Douglass spoke about the struggle of African Americans in the post-Emancipation era. 

Artifact II:

Monson Motor Lodge Plaque

While the original location was demolished, this plaque is in place to remember the events that occurred in the summer of 1964. A series of crucial protests involving local residents, Dr. Robert B. Hayling, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. contributed to the Civil Rights Act. 

Exterior I:

The rebuilt pool of the Monson Motor Lodge

In this pool, James Brock poured muriatic acid into the water to threaten protestors. Pictures of this event reached the international stage:

 

Horace Court, Associated Press

Exterior II:

Exterior of Hilton Bayfront Hotel

These steps are what is left of the Monson Motel after it was demolished in 2003. On this site, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested after asking for service. Later, he wrote to Rabbi Israel Dresner to gather other Rabbis to take part in the movement. Sixteen Rabbis in total were arrested on June 18th, 1964. 

In Conversation: 

MLK, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, James Brock outside of Monson Motor Lodge

Source: The Atlantic

This image takes place moments before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested, following a 20-minute conversation. The image provides context to the situation as Dr. King attempted to have a conversation before formally protesting on the site. However, the conversation was not received openly and subsequently results in Dr. King's arrest and the protest at the lodge's pool. 

"Why We Came"

Source: The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society

This video is a reading of the letter that the sixteen jailed Rabbis wrote, "Why We Came", explaining why they needed to come to St. Augustine at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This letter and video are important to bring up as they highlight solidarity and cooperation between different groups. 

ENG 202 Connection:

You know what's going to happen to both of us if we get caught?" I asked him. 

You scared?" He asked. 

"Yes. But that doesn't matter. I'll teach you. I just wanted to be sure you knew what you were getting into." 

He turned away from me, lifted his shirt in the back so that I could see his scars. Then he faced me again. 

"I know," he said. 

That same day, I stole a book and began to teach him.

-Kindred (98), Octavia E. Butler

Knowledge and education were a dangerous tool in the Antebellum Period. Similar to Dana and Nigel in Kindred, Frederick Douglass understood how crucial knowing how to read and write was to escaping slavery. 

Creative Component:

This collection of images intends to compare the past with the present. For example, the Monson Motor Lodge pool, although it was demolished and rebuilt, remains on the same site as it did when James Brock poured muriatic acid into the pool. Similarly, the Woolworth's counter replica remains on the site of the original location where the sit-ins took place, although it is now a Wells Fargo bank.