Florida National Guard Headquarters

St. Francis Barracks in St Augustine, Florida has a colorful and storied past. Unlike most military headquarters which are named for military heroes, this National Guard complex is named for a man of peace, Francis of Assisi. This nomenclature links the grounds to its historical roots as a monastery constructed in 1588 by Jesuit monks when Florida was a Spanish colony. Originally built from logs and thatch, the monastery was destroyed along with a significant portion of St Augustine when the English invaded in 1702. The Spanish decided to rebuild the monastery from stone and construction was nearly complete when Spain ceded Florida to England as a result of the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Having no need for a Catholic monastery, the Protestant English converted the building to a military garrison. When Spanish ruled returned in 1784, the facility continued to be used as a military outpost. American use of the site began in 1821 with the acquisition of Florida from Spain. The buildings saw military service during the Second Seminole War, as a garrison for Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War and then by the US Army until 1900. The garrison was leased to Florida State Troops; the predecessor of today’s National Guard, in 1907 for use as a headquarters. The site was unoccupied and gutted by fire in 1915. By Act of Congress in 1921, the buildings and grounds were formally deeded to the State. Beginning in 1922, the site was reconstructed using many of the old walls and cells used by the monks and St. Francis Barracks again housed the Florida National Guard headquarters as it does to this day.