Henry Flagler, a partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, arrived in St. Augustine in the 1880's and was the driving force behind turning the city into a winter resort for the wealthy northern elite. Flagler bought a number of local railroads which were incorporated into the Florida East Coast Railway, which built its headquarters in St. Augustine. Flagler built luxury hotels.
Visitor Tip
28 miles: heading south on the byway.
Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park:
Seeking the Fountain of Youth and believing he had found it, Ponce de Leon may have landed here in 1513 and planted a stone cross into the ground. www.fountainofyouthflorida.com/index.php
Mission de Nombre de Dios:
In 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles landed at what became the Mission de Nombre de Dios and claimed this site for Spain and the Church. It was on these grounds that Father Lopez would celebrate the first parish mass in the New World.
Points Of Interest
- Ponte Vedra Beach
- Bird Island Park
- Mickler’s Landing
- Guana Tolomato Matanzas
- Guana Tolomato Matanzas Environmental Ed Center
- Nease Beachfront Park
- Vilano Beach
- Colonial St. Augustine
- St. Augustine
- The Flagler Factor
- America’s Tourism Capital 1890-1930
- Anastasia Island
- Fort Matanzas – National Monument
- Marineland and UF Whitney Lab
- Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
- Malacompra Plantation Archaeological Site
- Betty Steflik Memorial Reserve
- Flagler Beach Pier
- Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park