Teeing-off Historically

(Ladies tee-off in 1902 at the historically challenging Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.)


With a name like Florida’s Historic Coast, it’s not surprising that nearly every

attraction has a long history. Golf is certainly no exception. Today, history is

made each year at THE PLAYERS Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach and the

ultimate shrine to the game and its greatest contributors is the World Golf Hall of

Fame in St. Augustine. But golf’s beginnings here go back much further to a time

when Henry Flagler transformed sleepy, little St. Augustine into a winter getaway

for the superstars of the Gilded Age. The 1888 opening of his magnificent Hotel

Ponce de Leon brought folks of incredible wealth and fame to the Oldest City to

enjoy the mild winter weather and an occasional round of golf. First, the grounds

of the historic Castillo de San Marcos were “modified” for challenging golf in a

memorable setting – including a 17th century moat as a trap. More courses were

to follow to set the stage for the area’s current status as one of the world’s great

golf destinations -- a place where even golf is not the same old story.

Flagler College. It’s Scary Beautiful.

If you built this place you wouldn’t want to leave either. So we really can’t blame Henry Flagler, founder of the famed Hotel Ponce de Léon  (now Flagler College) for hanging around all these years. The only odd part is that he died 100 years ago back in 1913. So how is it that he’s still on premises?

Before we get into the heebie-jeebie stuff, let’s examine exactly how much effort went into Flagler College’s magnificent construction. The massive, ornate structure was planned to sit in a tidal marsh wetland. So not only was establishing a strong foundation difficult, but transporting supplies to the area wasn’t a walk in the park either. In fact, it was a train ride, on tracks built specifically to usher materials to the building site.

So, starting on December 1, 1885, more than 700 workers began an intense construction effort of what would become the  first major poured  concrete structure in the U.S. with a complex electrical system wired by Thomas Edison himself.  Mr. Flagler  noted that he overspent on the foundation so even in 100 years it would stand strong and appear exactly the same.

And now, the weird stuff. 100 years after his death, Mr. Flagler is still around to see that, indeed, his hotel remains both beautiful and formidable. At least according to legend. You see, just after his passing in 1913, Mr. Flagler’s body was briefly displayed in a coffin in the hotel’s rotunda. When time for burial came and assistants prepared to remove the coffin, all doors of the rotunda slammed shut on their own, simultaneously. Obviously Mr. Flagler didn’t want to leave. Immediately after the incident, workers noticed something strange in one of the tiny tiles on the rotunda floor. It was a perfect likeness of Mr. Flagler’s face, burned into the tile, watching over the hotel. No one knows how it got there. No one noticed it prior to the incident.

This tale of Mr. Flagler’s ghostly face isn’t the only oddity about this unusually gorgeous place. And the 100-year commemoration of its creator’s death serves to highlight the lore and significance of this vitally important piece of St. Augustine history. It could also highlight your next visit here, or your next nightly ghost tour. That is, if you aren’t afraid to come discover why our history – and the history of Flagler College – isn’t the same old story.
 

April 3, 1513, Is Only A Few Days Away