In 1607 a small band of settlers founded the first permanent English outpost in the Americas, Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia. At that time another town already had existed since 1565 in a different part of the New World — making it the oldest continuously occupied European community in the country.
Given its history, St. Augustine, Florida offers visitors a setting that captures not just the stories but also an authentic atmosphere of its colorful past. That comes to life primarily in the city’s 144-square-block historic district.
The Colonial Quarter is a good place to begin exploring. The neighborhood is a living history museum, with emphasis on the first word. A blacksmith, carpenter and other costumed historic interpreters combine facts with fun as they help onlookers relive the way things were over the centuries….