Unearthing St. Augustine’s
Colonial Heritage: Creating a Digital Collection from
Hidden and Fragile Resources
Florida Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference
St. 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 resources
related to colonial St. Augustine, Florida,
consisting of over 10,000 maps, drawings, photographs
and 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 and
reconstruction 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. Augustine
Commission Meeting
August 8, 2011
Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach: (so far)
City of St. Augustine
Resolution
#2011-20
Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach: (so far)
Lab Tours and
Open House
November 2, 2012
Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach: (so far)
St. Augustine Time
Travelers Society
Blog & Facebook
(started Spring 2013)
Unearthing St. Augustine Outreach: (so far)
