St. Augustine, Florida Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565. This was 21 years before the settlement of Roanoke, 42 years before the settlement of Jamestown or Santa Fe, and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

Answer: Coquina

Coquina is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of shell fragments. Since shells are made of calcium carbonate, coquina is considered a form of limestone. It is formed on very active beaches, which help to sort the sediment.

Castillo de San Marcos was built in 1672 after the 1688 attack of English pirate, Robert Searle. While under U.S. rule it was known as Ft. Marion from 1821 to 1942 and Ft. St. Mark while under British control from 1763 to 1784. It has a long history of multiple attacks and reconstruction, and today is a tourist attraction performing reenactments.

Answer: Santa Maria

Santa Maria restaurant has been owned and operated by the Connell family since the 1950s and offers seafood and American fare. It is located on an "Old Fisherman's Wharf" near the Bridge of Lions and offers a beautiful view of Matanzas Bay.

Answer: Casa Monica Hotel

The Casa Monica is a 138-room Moorish Revival Castle with a combination of Spanish architecture and first class service. It is also listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and a is recipient AAA Four Diamond Award. It is located in the middle of historic St. Augustine and minutes away from the beach.

Answer: Fountain of Youth

Ponce de Leon landed here in 1513. The "Fountain" is actually not a fountain, but a natural spring. For 350 years, the property was farmed and citrus orchards grew here until 1901 when Diamond Lil', Dr. Louella Day McConnell, purchased it. She began to charge an admission price to drink from the waters of the spring found on the property. Today, visitors come to fill bottles with three dollars worth of Fountain of Youth water.

Answer: True

St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park was founded in 1893, and is one of Florida's oldest zoological attractions. In the early 1880s, George Reddington and Felix Fire began collecting alligators they found on Anastasia Island. The Alligator Farm has been an established Florida attraction since the turn of the century. Also at the park are other reptiles, exotic birds, and mammals.

Answer: Flagler College

The college is named after Henry Morrison Flagler, who opened it in 1888 as the luxury resort Hotel Ponce de Leon. It is now a residence hall and one of the best examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture in the United States. It has been in business as a college since 1968, and many millions of dollars have been spent in renovations to restore it to it's original elegance. Today more than 2000 students are in attendance.

Answer: False

It is actually called First Coast and includes all of the counties of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, and St. Johns. The principal cities include Fernandina Beach, Jacksonville, Orange Park, and St. Augustine. Not only does this signify that it contains the oldest permanent European settlement, but also that it is the "first coast" of Florida that a traveler would encounter while exploring the the East Coast of the United States.

Answer: Ghosts

Guided tours can be taken by bus, trolley, train, or even hearse! St. Augustine is believed by many to be one of the most haunted cities in the U.S. and even offers haunted pub tours. The most notable haunted places include historic St. George Street, The Old Drug Store, The Spanish Military Hospital, The Old Jail, and the cemeteries.

Answer: The windows are all different shapes and sizes.

Also known as Villa Zorayda, it is a smaller version of 12th-century Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. It was built by Franklin Smith in 1883. He was very superstitious and believed that spirits would have difficulty finding their way into his house if the windows were different sizes and shapes.

The castle also contains a 2300 year-old rug made of woven cat fur and over the years has been used as a speakeasy and as a movie set.