Situated on the oldest named street in America just steps away from the Matanzas River, the Spanish Military Hospital Museum enables visitors to travel back in time to St. Augustine in the late 18th century. Focusing on the Second Spanish Period, the museum provides visitors with a unique insight into the “cutting edge” medical practices and surgical techniques of the Colonial era. This captivating glimpse into the past is hosted in a reconstructed building that has been furnished to reflect the various rooms of an 18th-century hospital. The building occupies the site of the original hospital, which was in operation from 1784 until 1821.
Situated on the oldest named street in America just steps away from the Matanzas River, the Spanish Military Hospital Museum enables visitors to travel back in time to St. Augustine in the late 18th century. Focusing on the Second Spanish Period, the museum provides visitors with a unique insight into the “cutting edge” medical practices and surgical techniques of the Colonial era. This captivating glimpse into the past is hosted in a reconstructed building that has been furnished to reflect the various rooms of an 18th-century hospital. The building occupies the site of the original hospital, which was in operation from 1784 until 1821. The museum brings to life the experiences of a doctor and patient in 1790s St. Augustine.
The hospital is located on Aviles Street, which was originally known as Hospital Street because the medical facility was situated along the roadway. The medical clinic treated military personnel during St. Augustine’s Spanish and British Colonial periods. The original hospital complex consisted of three main structures and several outbuildings. The West Wing, built during the First Spanish Period, burned down in 1818. The British constructed the East Wing and Apothecary. The hospital was closed two years after the United States assumed control over Florida.
Over the ensuing decades, several other buildings were constructed on the lot. A fire destroyed the East Wing in 1895. While a modern building still occupies the site of the West Wing, the building that replaced the East Wing was torn down in 1960. Archaeological excavations uncovered the foundation of the original hospital structure. The current reconstruction was built using archived Spanish records.
The Doctor is Always In…
It’s spring in Florida, pollen is flying and allergies are at our doorstep. For relief from congestion we reach for over-the-counter remedies. Did you know that many of these are rooted in the same medicinal herbs used at the Spanish Military Hospital between 1782 and 1821?
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