Did you know that chocolate first appeared in St. Augustine in 1641? “Sweet Beginnings” at Governor’s Cultural Center and Museum will explore chocolate’s role in St. Augustine’s history, from the Spanish Colonial period to present day.

UF Historic Preservation Program, in partnership with UF Historic St. Augustine, Inc. and the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, was awarded one of six Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Chocolate History Grants during the annual Heritage Chocolate Society Meeting hosted by Mars, Incorporated and American Heritage Chocolate. These awards were established in 2013 to further the study of chocolate’s diverse history and its impact on society.

Access digitized material from the Governor’s House Library collections wherever you are through the Historic St. Augustine collection hosted by the University of Florida Digital Collections.

“Governor’s House Library and St. Augustine” is a guide of resources and information for researching the history of St. Augustine and using the Governor’s House Library collections.

Celebrated Black writer, anthropologist, and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston visited St. Augustine, Florida, several times over the course of her life, most memorably in 1927 and 1942. This article highlights the cross-institutional and cross-community effort to tell the story of this lesser-known part of Hurston’s life and career that emerged between St. Augustine and Gainesville.