The Buried History of Mission Communities in St. Augustine

From 1567 to 1705, a vast network of missions extended across land claimed by Spain as La Florida in what is now the southeastern U.S.

Within that territory, Franciscan friars traveled great distances to establish mission settlements and convert Native peoples of many different tribes and language groups to the Catholic faith. After many years of conflict between English and Spanish colonies and their Indian allies, the complicated network of missions collapsed in the early 1700s. By 1706, the chain of Spanish missions was reduced to only a handful of refugee settlements, including several that were scattered around the outskirts of St. Augustine. These communities represent the last vestiges of the mission system in Florida and the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina.

Scroll down to learn the story of those who lived in these settlements. 

Before the 1500s, Native peoples exclusively populated the land now known as the United States. Comprised of numerous tribes and chiefdoms with varied belief systems and cultures, their worlds were disrupted with the exploration and invasion of Europeans into their homelands. Colonial powers used many approaches to engage with—and sometimes control—Native populations through trading, enslaving, and forging political and military alliances. The Spanish created the mission system to achieve these goals while spreading the Christian faith, collecting food resources, and expanding access to human labor.

This map illustrates the  vast network of missions  that stretched north from St. Augustine to present-day Georgia and west across the Florida panhandle.

In 1680, English Carolinians and their Native allies began their assault on the Spanish missions. Over the next 20 years, they destroyed the missions and enslaved many villagers. The Carolinians made their final devastating attack between 1702 and 1706.

This included a failed siege on St. Augustine in 1702 and the destruction of the western capital of  San Luis  (near present-day Tallahassee) in 1704. Villagers who survived and escaped capture fled in many directions including Pensacola, the Apalachicola region, and St. Augustine.

At the beginning of the 1700s, two main waves of refugees migrated to St. Augustine. The first wave was those retreating from the now-destroyed missions. By 1711, 401 displaced Guale, Timucua, and Apalachee Indians were living in seven camps within firing range of Castillo de San Marcos. The second wave doubled the number of Native refugees. They consisted of Indian groups—including many Yamasee—seeking refuge from the fallout of the  Yamasee War  that started in 1715.

The second wave of refugees were largely made up of Yamasee Indians. The Yamasee Indians were a multi-ethic confederation of Native peoples, many with roots to pre-contact Mississippian Chiefdoms in what is now present-day Georgia. They were politically savvy and had become trading partners with Carolina colonists. However, trade abuses and the threat of enslavement had soured their relationship.

On April 15, 1715, the Yamasee turned on their English allies and attacked settlements in South Carolina. The conflict, known as the  Yamasee War , brought the South Carolina colony to the brink of destruction. Fleeing from the Carolinians' retaliation, some Yamasee communities fled to St. Augustine for refuge.

As the refugee population in St. Augustine swelled, communities from various tribal backgrounds began to mingle and intermarry. The census from 1717 documents at least 10 missions loosely organized by cultural affiliation. Historical census records provide insight to the language groups and ethnic ties of the various refugee settlements.

Many villages maintained the same name of their previous mission or settlement prior to the Yamasee War, which provides clues to the lineage and kinship ties of some residents. The year 1726 marked the high point of refugee missions with 1007 people living in 13 villages. However, this peak was short lived.

In 1728, a devastating English-led attack targeted and destroyed many communities. Both the overall population and the number of villages continued to decline from the 1730s through the 1750s. Indian groups who chose refuge among the Spanish in St. Augustine faced epidemics and attacks by warring parties on their vulnerable settlements. Over time, this led to a decline in their numbers and a continual need to consolidate villages.

Indians used a variety of survival strategies including abandoning the refugee missions and integrating into Spanish society by becoming soldiers or intermarrying. By 1759, the effects of relocation, consolidation, diseases, and village abandonment reduced the Indian populations in these mission settlements to only 95 people living in two villages.

Tracing the exact location of these communities is challenging due to limited historical records and the frequent movement and reconsolidation of the settlements. The danger of raids created instability within the communities and sometimes the villages were destroyed or abandoned.

The best historical map of the villages was drafted by Spanish engineer Antonio de Arredondo in 1737. The intent of his map was to draft plans for a large, circular fortification system around the colony, but it also included the location of six missions on the outskirts of St. Augustine—Nombre de Dios, La Costa, Tolomato, Palica, Pocotalaca, and La Punta. Though the defenses were never constructed, the map remains the best source for the approximate location of each community. 

The map below shows the missions recorded by Arredondo. Click on red structures to learn more about the community populations! (Are you on a mobile device? Expand the map and zoom in. Then, use two fingers to navigate around the map.)

These communities continue to be documented through historical and archaeological research. In 1986, the City of St. Augustine enacted an Archaeological Preservation Ordinance to ensure that its rich past is documented before new building and development occurs. Areas in the city with known archaeological deposits were designated as  Archaeological Zones , and several correspond to the approximate locations of early 1700s mission communities. 

Through archaeology, we know that mission locations recorded in colonial maps do not often correspond to modern-day locations. Archaeological investigations by the  City of St. Augustine Archaeology Program  and other researchers have documented traces of all the communities and revealed the specific placement of three of the six enclaves.

The material culture of each community is unique—it reflects the movement of people and ideas across the landscape during a time of conflict and significant cultural exchange. Each community has its own story to tell. Archaeology documents artifacts and features that offer a tangible connection to the village residents.

Archaeology provides insight to those that lived and died in the refugee villages. The most intensively investigated (and one of the largest) of these 18th-century mission communities is  Nuestra Señora del Rosario de la Punta  (Our Lady of the Rosary at the Point) located on the St. Augustine peninsula south of the colonial city. The village existed across three decades until its demise after 1754. Spanish census figures for La Punta between 1736 and 1752 indicate that there were between 34 and 62 people living at the mission community, most of whom were Yamasee Indians. Although the total number of Indians living near St. Augustine decreased, La Punta’s population increased by accepting newcomers.

Clues in the archaeological record indicated that La Punta was temporarily deserted and later reoccupied. Excavation of the community well feature provided clear evidence of two different episodes of use. The villagers abandoned La Punta around 1740 when the English led a devastating raid on St. Augustine and destroyed many of the surrounding mission villages. The resilient community rebuilt and later resettled in the same area. 

What is apparent in the documents and in the archaeological evidence is that English attacks, relocation, and the outbreak of disease must have caused serious cultural and social disruption. The archaeological record reveals a community attempting to maintain aspects of their traditional lifeways during challenging times.

Resettling near St. Augustine was a strategy used by some of the surviving Indians of the Spanish missions and refugees of the Yamasee War. Migration and mobility helped some Native peoples endure the war-torn years of the 1700s. However, life was not easy for many refugees living near Spanish St. Augustine. Within three decades, nearly 90% of the Indian population that first sought sanctuary in St. Augustine had either perished, been enslaved, integrated into Spanish society, or elected to leave the refugee missions. 

In 1763, Spain ceded its Florida colony to Great Britain. When St. Augustine’s residents evacuated to Spain's colony of Cuba, only 89 Christian Indians joined them. Other Native peoples decided to stay behind. Those that remained persevered by relying on kinship ties and forging alliances with other Native communities and Africans who escaped enslavement.

Through the City’s Archaeological Preservation Ordinance, the  Archaeology Program  continues to document evidence of life within these mission communities. The story is one about the perseverance of people and the strategies used to maintain their identity and freedoms, as well as the story of migration as a means of survival. Although these Native settlements were eventually abandoned, the Apalachee, Yamasee, and others Native populations continue to persist today. Their legacy endures both through research by historians and archaeologists who work to reconstruct Native histories, as well as through their living communities who share, preserve, and celebrate their heritage.