Historical Research

Historic Ship Timbers Discovered on Crescent Beach

Jay Smith2025-08-29T15:30:56-04:00August 28th, 2025|

Following the recent swells and storm surges cause by Hurricane Erin, two large ship timbers were discovered washed up on Crescent Beach. The timbers were found by the St. Johns County Beach Services, who quickly reported the find to LAMP (St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program), the research arm of the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. At this stage, the type of wood had not been identified, but samples have been collected and will [...]

Shrimp Nickels and the Local Shrimping Industry

Jay Smith2025-06-24T09:27:57-04:00June 19th, 2025|

It’s not uncommon for guests to ask staff members at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum about donating items to the Museum’s collection. Currently, the Museum holds over 25,000 items in its collection including items ranging from tools used by Lighthouse keepers to a Coast Guard uniform from World War II. Recently, the Museum received a token used in the shrimping industry. Ed Long, who is the co-author of the book Shrimp Boat City [...]

Faro y Museo Marítimo de San Agustín

Lee-Capitano2025-01-15T10:35:25-05:00March 20th, 2024|

Faro y Museo Marítimo de San Agustín Suba * Descubra * Experimente El destino número 1 de Trip Advisor en St. Augustine, FL. VISITE EL FARO DE ST. AUGUSTINE Estamos abiertos de 9 am a 6 pm todos los días. Para consultar los horarios actualizados de las actividades especiales, visite: Sitio web: www.staugustinelighthouse.org Dirección GPS: 100 Red Cox Rd. St. Augustine, Fl 32080 Aparcamiento gratuito frente al Centro de Visitantes. Teléfono: 904-829-0745 Para traducir [...]

Shrimp: Small Crustacean, Big Journey

Lee-Capitano2025-01-15T10:35:45-05:00July 31st, 2023|

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 his family, Mike built shrimping [...]

Check Out The Latest Spyglass Magazine!

Lee-Capitano2025-01-15T10:35:53-05:00July 12th, 2023|

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 of you! You keep the [...]

Brown Bess Muskets from 1782 – Found Loaded, Cocked, and Ready To Be Fired!

Lee-Capitano2025-01-15T10:36:02-05:00July 5th, 2023|

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 found on a Revolutionary War-era [...]

What Does The 4th of July, The Revolution, & BBQ Have In Common?

Lee-Capitano2025-01-15T10:36:12-05:00June 26th, 2023|

"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 the St Augustine harbor in [...]

Return to the French Frigate, Junon

Jay Smith2023-05-22T13:30:31-04:00May 22nd, 2023|

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 on location for Disney’s Pirates [...]

Junior Service League’s Legacy Remains

Jay Smith2023-04-13T16:11:15-04:00March 19th, 2023|

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 literally turned back the bulldozers, [...]

Muskets Added to Wrecked! Exhibit

Jay Smith2023-04-13T15:59:07-04:00March 19th, 2023|

The Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) Conservation team installed a new case in the Wrecked! Exhibit. This new case replaces the Star Waters mannequin and features one of the muskets recovered from the Storm Wreck, the American Revolution-era shipwreck excavated in 2009. Other artifacts associated with the musket including flintlock, flint, shot and even some paper wadding are also featured. The team has recently installed a second musket in the exhibit. The muskets have undergone [...]

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