Todays Bimble
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Todays Bimble Around Town
Weather not so good at sea then ???
The oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S. dates back to the early 18th century. Located near the Old City Gates in the area that was known as the "Minorcan Quarter," the house was originally a homestead belonging to Juan Genoply. The building is constructed of red cedar and cypress. Everything was made by hand, even the nails. Wooden pegs keep the timbers in place. The house appears on the tax rolls for the year 1716, but more than likely it existed years before then. Government moved slowly in colonial days and communication between the Spanish Crown and the little garrison town took a long time before taxes were assessed. The building had no electricity, no running water, no privy and no kitchen. The customs of the day dictated that the kitchen be housed in separate quarters because of the risk from fire and to eliminate excess heat in the long, hot summers. The privy was dug away from the main building and a small building was constructed around it for privacy. Drinking water was drawn from the well. When Juan Genoply was a bachelor the small one-room house was sufficient for his needs, but when he married and the house became a school, an addition was needed to allow privacy and separate functions. The schoolmaster and his family had their living quarters upstairs. The downstairs was used as the classroom. The schoolhouse was also the first co-ed school, as it educated both girls and boys together beginning in 1788.
Most people immediately notice the enormous chain that wraps around the schoolhouse and is tied to an anchor. The anchor and chain were added back in 1937 when a hurricane threatened St. Augustine and an attempt was made to secure the schoolhouse so the historic gem of a building would not be lost.
The City Gate
and its coquina walls
The Town
Wall
Bits, any city that has loads of Bugs (and my favourite blue at that) is good for me and Bear found a sorry use for his trigger finger
Gonzalez-Alverez House or The Oldest House For more than three centuries this site has been occupied by St Augustinians. Beginning about 1650, a succession of thatched wooden structures were their homes. This coquina stone house was built soon after the English burned St Augustine in 1702 and originally was a one-story rectangle with two rooms. As times changed during the Spanish, British and American occupations, a wooden second story, an off street porch were added. Preserved by St Augustine Historical Society since 1918, the house became a registered national landmark in 1970. Tovar House. The infantryman Jose Tovar lived on this corner in 1763. The original site and size of his house remained unchanged during the British period, when John Johnson, a Scottish merchant lived here. After the Spanish returned in 1784, Jose Coruna, a Canary Islander with his family and Tomas Caraballo, an assistant surgeon, occupied the house. Geronimo Alvarez, who lived next door in the Gonzalez-Alverez House, purchased the property on 1871. A later occupant was Civil War General Martin D. Hardin, USA. The Tovar House has been owned by the St Augustine Historical Society since 1918.
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