Unearthing St. Augustine’s Colonial Heritage:

Creating a Digital Collection from Hidden and Fragile Resources

Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Annual ConferenceSt. Augustine, Florida

May 17, 2013

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/USACH

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/USACH

Unearthing St. Augustine’s Colonial Heritage is a National Endowment for the Humanities grant-funded project

to digitally preserve a collection of hidden and fragile resourcesrelated to colonial St. Augustine, Florida,

consisting of over 10,000 maps, drawings, photographsand documents

The digital collection will be a freely available resource for researchers, historians, archaeologists, architects, and historic preservationists,

and will help in telling St. Augustine’s unique “story” on a global scale.

Unearthing St. Augustine Project Partners:

Unearthing St. Augustine Advisory Board:• Kathleen Deagan - Distinguished Research Curator of Archaeology Emerita, UF

• Kelly Enright - Asst. Professor of History & Director of Public History, Flagler College

• Roy E. Graham - Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Professor, UF

• Carl Halbirt - City Archaeologist, City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program

• Susan R. Parker - Executive Director, St. Augustine Historical Society

• Dana Ste. Claire - Director, St. Augustine 450th Commemoration

• Herschel E. Shepard - FAIA Emeritus, Architect

• Glenn G. Willumson - Director, Museum Studies Program, UF

Unearthing St. Augustine Government House Digital Preservation Center:

Unearthing St. Augustine Work Flow:

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

Government House Research Collections ~ 1,200 items

St. Augustine Historical Society ~ 3,000 items

City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program ~ 2,000 items

Herschel Shepard Historic Preservation Collection ~ 800 items

Existing UF Digital Collections ~ 3,000 items

TOTAL = 10,000+ items

[Note: “Items” = unique titles or volumes in database]

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

• Historical research reports• Interpretation notes• Architectural drawings• Field reports

• Photographs

• Slides• Maps• Archaeological surveys

Government House Research Collections

The majority of the material in this collection comes from the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) block and lot files which were created with the intention to provide historical information and guide HSAPB administrators in the development and management of the colonial town and properties. The HSAPB ceased in 1997. Archival materials include:

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

St. Augustine Historical Society

These materials will include Spanish documents, as well as English language translations previously only available to researchers visiting the SAHS Research Library. This will address frequent requests from teachers and researchers working on colonial America for access to key documents in translation. Besides documents relevant to the founding and development of St. Augustine, these files also include:

• translations of Spanish printed sources about Juan Ponce de Leon and Pedro Menéndez de Avilés• accounts of Francis Drake’s raid on St. Augustine in 1586• memorials by clergy on conditions in the Spanish missions• texts on town planning and royal ordinances• documents pertaining to the building of the Castillo de San Marcos

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program

Focuses on materials from excavations conducted over the past 20 years and held by city archaeologist, Carl Halbirt. These documents, site maps and slides not only reflect the City’s European origins since 1565, but a rich and varied Native American heritage that has been in existence for thousands of years. Archival materials from over 100 excavations include:

• Site summaries and histories• Site graphics and maps• Field notes• Samples from sites photographed, cataloged and described

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

• Ximinez-Fatio House• Avero House• Castillo de San Marcos• Fort Matanzas

• Sanchez-deMesa House

• Tovar House• Oldest House• Government House

Herschel Shepard Historic Preservation Collection

This collection of original drawings, documents and photographs includes all of Shepard’s works on the colonial buildings of St. Augustine housed in Special Collections at the UF George A. Smathers Libraries . Shepard has worked in architectural restoration andreconstruction of St. Augustine buildings since 1970, and 25 historic structures are documented thoroughly with drawings, research notes, and photographs. Buildings include:

Hidden and Fragile Collections Overview:

Government House Research Collections ~ 1,200 items

St. Augustine Historical Society ~ 3,000 items

City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program ~ 2,000 items

Herschel Shepard Historic Preservation Collection ~ 800 items

Existing UF Digital Collections ~ 3,000 items

TOTAL = 10,000+ items

[Note: “Items” = unique titles or volumes in database]

After 6 months of production (as of April 26, 2013):

• 2,458 total items have been scanned

• 4,905 total digital pages ingested

• 19,141 total item views

Project funding runs through June 30, 2014

Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach:(so far)

City of St. AugustineCommission MeetingAugust 8, 2011

Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach:(so far)

City of St. AugustineResolution#2011-20

Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach:(so far)

Lab Tours andOpen HouseNovember 2, 2012

Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach:(so far)

St. Augustine TimeTravelers Society Blog & Facebook(started Spring 2013)

Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach:(so far)