Saturday, April 15, 2017

inSPIREd Sunday



December 2016 - St. Augustine FL

Within the grounds of the Fountain of Youth park is the 1587 Mission of Nombre de Dios.



In 1587, Franciscan friars constructed the first mission in the continental United States right here on the grounds of the Fountain of Youth. The location of this Mission, however, was a mystery that revealed itself little by little. It began in 1934 when a gardener planting an orange tree discovered a skeleton, which proved to be a Timucuan. Over time, a large number of Timucua burials were exposed in the Park, and the pattern and position of their burials revealed the true location of the 1587 Mission of Nombre de Dios.




To reconstruct the Mission, a new archaeologically appropriate site was chosen. The structure was built using historically correct methods wherever possible using local cypress, which was known to 16th century Spaniards to be durable and resistant to wood-eating insects. The Mission church features a choir loft and rustic altar and uses a palm thatch roof. The floor is crushed coquina, as is the area around the church.

















8 comments:

  1. ...simple, my Amish friends would like this.

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  2. Wishing you a very Happy Easter that is filled with plenty of love and happiness!

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  3. I love the bright and colourful truck

    Happy Easter and thank you for linking up

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  4. I've been to St Augustine but I missed this. Need to go back I think.

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  5. What a fantastic place. I love how the mission revealed itself. The photos are awesome!

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  6. The reconstructed church is beautiful. What a story!
    Happy Easter

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  7. I like the idea and how simple it is but did it look like that is what I'd ask. Great story and work looking into it

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