The long-awaited West Augustine Health and Wellness Center opened Jan. 23, providing a full spectrum of health care to the area’s most vulnerable.
Black history in St. Johns County is now just a tap away.
A new, free mobile app is bringing the stories of St Augustine’s Black heritage to life, connecting 450 years of history with users in a fresh, accessible way.
The St. Augustine Black History App, developed by Visit St. Augustine in partnership with Florida’s Historic Coast, is offering curated timelines, biographical profiles, site histories and thematic explorations of St. Augustine’s Black history.
Susan Phillips, president and CEO of the St. Johns County Visitors and Convention Bureau, described the app as a vehicle that amplifies and preserves the historical narrative of the Black community of St. Johns County.
“By utilizing technology, our visitors and residents will now have another way to engage with a more comprehensive understanding of our shared past, fostering a future where knowledge, appreciation and unity flourish,” she said in a news release.
The app highlights people, places and events that shaped the Black history of St. Augustine, from the arrival Pedro Menendez de Avilés’ free and enslaved Africans in 1565 to the formation of Fort Mose, the first legally sanctioned, free Black settlement in America.
The app also explores the Lincolnville Historic District, once dubbed “Little Africa,” and the events surrounding the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Visit St. Augustine team is grateful to everyone who has collaborated with us to make the release possible,” Cheyenne Koth Leahy said. “St. Augustine’s historical and cultural organizations exist in an ecosystem that thrives when we communicate and evolve together.”
According to the release, users can explore historical locations using content backed by research from reputable sources, including Florida Memory, the Library of Congress, the Civil Rights Library of St Augustine and Enslaved.org.
The app is organized into categories that include Events Timeline, Historical People, Historical Places and Historical Topics.
The Events Timeline covers more than 450 years of Black history on Florida’s Historic Coast.
Historical People offers short biographies and a media gallery, timeline and links to related content on the app.
Historical Places profiles sites with deep connections to Black history that include historical context, media galleries and timelines.
The Historical Topics section ties people and places together through thematic pages, such as the Civil Rights Movement.
Site profiles include the ACCORD Museum, the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, and St. Paul AME Church.
To ensure the app remains current, Visit St. Augustine will update the app quarterly. The app is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
For more information, go to https://www.floridashistoriccoast.com/press-releases/visit-st-augustine-unveils-new-black-history-app/.
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