Nuestra Señora de la Soledad

Spanish colonists built the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad on this site shortly after 1572, and in 1597 a hospital was attached, making it the first hospital in the continental United States. In 1687 the chapel was enlarged into a church, which became the principal parish church after the siege of 1702 and was rebuilt in coquina stone in 1736. After Spain ceded Florida to the British in 1763, the British converted La Soledad into St. Peter's Church, an Anglican church, and added a new bell tower and a west-facing entrance. The church remained in use until the British left Florida in 1784. After the Spanish returned that year, the church was dismantled, and in 1793 its stone was used to build a new parish church on the Plaza, the current Cathedral Basilica. Archaeological excavations by Florida State University in 1976-77 uncovered remnants of La Soledad and numerous burials beneath its floor and in the churchyard, including Native Americans and persons of European and African descent, reflecting both Spanish and British burial practices. During the Civil War, according to an oral account, slaves gathered on this lot to receive news of their emancipation. Since 1938, the Sisters of St. Joseph have owned and preserved the site.

St. Augustine, Florida · United States