González-Alvarez House

Gonzalez-Alvarez House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location	St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Coordinates	29°53′17″N 81°18′36″W / 29.88806°N 81.31000°WCoordinates: 29°53′17″N 81°18′36″W / 29.88806°N 81.31000°W
Built	circa 1723, 1775-1786, 1790[1]
Architectural style	Stone Vernacular[1]
NRHP Reference #	70000845[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 15, 1970
Designated NHL	April 15, 1970[3]

The González-Alvarez House, also known as The Oldest House, is a historic home in St. Augustine, Florida. It is located at 14 St. Francis Street. On April 15, 1970, it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.

The "Oldest House" title dates from a period when the house was believed to have been built in the 16th century. The currently recognized oldest house in the United States is the Fairbanks House, which was built in 1639. However, The Gonzalez Alvarez house is still the oldest house in Florida, so the "oldest house" title still has some merit, even though it is not the oldest in America.

The house is owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society and is open for public tours as part of the Oldest House Museum Complex. Evidence can be seen of the Spanish, British and American occupations of St. Augustine.

List of families who lived in the oldest house

• First Spanish Period
  • 1625-1873, family of Tomas González y Hernandez & Maria Francisco de Guevara
• British Period and Second Spanish Period
  • 1775-1790, Joseph Peavett & Maria Evans
• Second Spanish Period and into statehood

1790-1882, Family of Geronimo Alvarez & Antonia Vens

• Up to the Present
  • 1882-1918, William B. Duke family (1882-1884), Mary Carver and Dr. Charles P. Carver (1884-1898), James W. Henderson family (1898-1911), George T. Reddington and the South Beach Alligator Farm 1911-1918
  • 1918- St. Augustine Historical Society

References

1. "Oldest House Museum". Florida Heritage Tourism Interactive Catalog. Florida Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
2. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
3. Gonzalez-Alvarez House at National Historic Landmarks Program

• Wilson, Leslie (2002). "Families who lived in the Oldest House, St. Augustine, Florida ca. 1720s to 1918 / Leslie Wilson.", St. Augustine Historical Society, 1(28).

External links

• Official website
• Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
  • St. Johns County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
  • St. Johns County markers
• Oldest House Museum Complex at Florida's Historic A1A Coastal Scenic Byway
• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. FL-138, "Gonzalez-Alvarez House, 14 Saint Francis Street, Saint Augustine, St. Johns County, FL", 14 photos, 21 measured drawings, 37 data pages

Gallery

• 
  National Historic Landmark plaque
• 
  Historical marker
• 
• 
• 
  c. 1902