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Shrimp: Small Crustacean, Big Journey
SHRIMP Small Crustacean, Big Journey Biting into a crispy shrimp dipped in some tangy cocktail sauce is one of the most popular experiences to enjoy in our city! Shrimp have been a staple of St. Augustine seafood prior to World War II thanks to the ingenuity of one local resident. Sollecito “Mike” Salvador brought the fledgling shrimping industry to St. Augustine in the early 1900s. With the help of [...]
Director of Museum Services Announces His Retirement!
Earlier this month, Rick Cain, the Director of Museum Services of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, announced his retirement after over 21 years of service. Rick joined the Museum in 2001 as the Visitor Services Coordinator and Safety Officer. Prior to working at the Museum, Rick worked as a Registered Nurse, training and skills that served him well as the Museum’s Safety Officer. In 2016, Rick was promoted [...]
Summer Educational Programs Wrap Up!
For over 20 years, the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum has hosted summer camps filled with educational, exciting, hands-on learning experiences. Campers learn about their community, its history and culture - including meeting maritime archaeologists who talk about their underwater discoveries, local artists showcasing their talents, and park rangers teaching about the nature around them. This year, camp welcomed over 100 rising first through fifth graders for the five-week [...]
Check Out The Latest Spyglass Magazine!
SPYGLASS MAGAZINE VOLUME 23 ISSUE 1 WHAT'S INSIDE SPYGLASS: THE SHRIMP JOURNEY HISTORIC PRESERVATION LIGHT STATION DISCOVERIES 1782 SHIPWRECK ARTIFACTS CREATING A LEGACY We are more than a lighthouse. We are a nonprofit that puts your dollars to work through historic preservation, education, conservation, archaeology, and shared history of local community and beyond. Thank you to our donors, volunteers, members, visitors, sponsors, ongoing supporters. We continue our mission because [...]
Brown Bess Muskets from 1782 – Found Loaded, Cocked, and Ready To Be Fired!
Three Brown Bess Muskets Found on a Revolutionary War-era Shipwreck! At the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, our maritime archaeologists excavated around 600 artifacts from a 1782 British Loyalist Ship – including three Brown Bess muskets. These muskets were found loaded, cocked and ready to be fired! The flint and leather pad were found in place on the gun, as well as the paper wadding. These artifacts were [...]
After-Hours Private Experiences
What can I do? Create your own experience before or after-hours. Ghost tours Paranormal investigations Historic tours Small, intimate ceremonies Engagements Sunrise/Sunset events School group tours Filming/photography Have a different idea? Reach out and we can work with you on your options. What does it include? Private Experiences can include a tour, tower climb, etc. Staff is always on site during private experiences. Scheduled times are inclusive of guided tour, [...]
What Does The 4th of July, The Revolution, & BBQ Have In Common?
"Oldest Grill" Found on a Revolutionary War-era Shipwreck! At the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, our maritime archaeologists excavated around 600 artifacts from a 1782 British Loyalist Ship – including a Grid Iron (a grill cooking grate.) These artifacts were found on a Revolutionary War-era shipwreck we called, “The Storm Wreck”. This site consists of up to sixteen ships that wrecked on a sand bar trying to enter [...]
Ash Breeze featured in Wooden Boat Building
3,000 Years of Wooden Boat building in 10 Minutes
Legacy Program Spotlight: Rosie Sebastiano
As a loving tribute to mothers everywhere, our May's Legacy Program spotlight focuses on the legacy of Rosie Sebastiano. Her children have chosen to celebrate her life with a commemorative brick here at the St Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. Since the Museum was Rosie’s “happy place,” her children know that they can visit and remember her here. We appreciate that they shared their unique story with us: Now we [...]
Where Were You On May 22, 1993?
On th at day, our 1st order Fresnel lens was put back into service after being repaired. In 1986, a vandal shot the lens at the top of the Lighthouse tower damaging 19 of the prisms. Beginning in 1980, the Junior Service League led a massive community effort to restore the St. Augustine Light Station. The restoration of the Keepers’ House was completed in 1990 after a disastrous fire in 1970. [...]
Return to the French Frigate, Junon
by Chuck Meide I was just 26, a bright-eyed graduate student at Florida State University, and it was the archaeological project of a lifetime. My friend and colleague David Johnson was a grad student at Texas A&M University. He’d taken a phone call from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island nation in the extreme southeast of the Caribbean. Better known now, but not then, as the scenic island filmed [...]
Member Spotlight: Kelli McGreevy and Rick Poehlman
Each month we feature a Member Spotlight in our member newsletter giving our members a chance to share why the Museum is important to them and why they value their membership. This month we recognize Kelli McGreevy and Rick Poehlman. Members since 2021, Rick and Kelli were married on the front lawn of the Museum in December 2020! Kelli has been visiting the Lighthouse since she was a child while [...]
Historical Preservation: Coastal Lookout Barracks Roof Completed!
The Coastal Barracks recently received a new cypress shingled roof. The funding for the project came from the Gene Oakes Grant Program of the Florida Lighthouse Association (FLA). The FLA is a non-profit organization that provides grants to support historic preservation, restoration and educational programs at Florida's light stations. The Coastal Lookout Building was built in 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The building served as the barracks [...]
Collections on the Move!
Last year, the Museum purchased property as part of an organizational initiative to consolidate operations. The new property offers the Museum a permanent space to expand as well as a new home for our collection of documents and artifacts. The location also means that the building is safer from storms and hurricanes. Since the end of 2022, the Collections and Conservation teams have been working diligently to pack up and [...]
Junior Service League’s Legacy Remains
In 1970, a suspicious fire gutted the abandoned Keepers’ House located at the St. Augustine Light Station. The following year, St. Johns County purchased the property from the United States Coast Guard with the intention of demolishing the burned-out shell of the building. Enter the Junior Service League of St. Augustine and the idea of restoring the Keepers’ House as a museum and community center. The women of the JSL [...]