When Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565, his New World survival kit included gambling, liquor and ladies for hire. For the next four hundred years, these three industries were vital in keeping the city financially afloat. With the cooperation of law enforcement and politicians, St. Augustine's madams, bootleggers and high-rollers created a veritable Riviera where tourists, especially the wealthy, could indulge in almost every vice and still bring the family along for a wholesome vacation picking oranges and gawking at alligators. Join historian Ann Colby's tour of spots not on the standard tourist map to discover hidden-in-plain-sight bordellos, speakeasies, casinos and the occasional opium den.

The unique and often turbulent history of St. Augustine, America's oldest city, has spawned more than four hundred years' worth of ghosts.

St. Augustine conjures up images of Spanish architecture, a massive fort, splashes of color against a backdrop of river and ocean, and always, always the omnipresent tourist. This ancient town, established along the banks of the Matanzas River in 1565, is the oldest city in America. Founded to protect Spains trade route from South and Central America to Europe, this colorful community was thriving years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and decades before Jamestown was settled. No other place in the United States embodies more charm than this hallowed city. Within these pages, images taken from the St. Augustine Historical Societys archives will educate, enthrall, and entice history buffs, tourists, and residents alike. These vintage photographs will link readers to the past and transform them into more than mere spectators visiting a popular tourist attraction. Rediscover the Spanish connection and see how early settlers built their homes, harvested their crops, educated their children, and protected their land. Walk the same worn and winding paths that the towns forefathers trod and acknowledge both the good and the bad times of life before modernday conveniences. St. Augustine conjures up images of Spanish architecture, a massive fort, splashes of color against a backdrop of river and ocean, and always, always the omnipresent tourist. This ancient town, established along the banks of the Matanzas River in 1565, is the oldest city in America. Founded to protect Spains trade route from South and Central America to Europe, this colorful community was thriving years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and decades before Jamestown was settled. No other place in the United States embodies more charm than this hallowed city. Within these pages, images taken from the St. Augustine Historical Societys archives will educate, enthrall, and entice history buffs, tourists, and residents alike. These vintage photographs will link readers to the past and transform them into more than mere spectators visiting a popular tourist attraction. Rediscover the Spanish connection and see how early settlers built their homes, harvested their crops, educated their children, and protected their land. Walk the same worn and winding paths that the towns forefathers trod and acknowledge both the good and the bad times of life before modernday conveniences.

With St. Augustine s 450th anniversary comes this new collection of seldom-heard stories from the Ancient City s past. Discover how a single guard boat thwarted a pirate fleet attack with a diversionary fife-and-drum performance and how the mere act of a Spanish ship captain lopping off the ear of a British merchant sparked the War of Jenkins Ear. From Spanish dons to barking Methodists and all the outrageous characters in between, master storyteller Drew Sappington entertains as he puts the story back in history through this fast and funny tour of Florida s hidden past."

The true story of the long-unsolved killing of a celebrity in northern Florida: “A page-turner.” —First Coast Living The murder of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley, a former model and television hostess who was once engaged to Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., is still notorious more than four decades after it occurred. The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbor Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities—and then Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Police arrested only one suspect for Lindsley’s murder, which remains unsolved to this day. Here, Elizabeth Randall replaces the rumors with research, and draws from over one thousand pages of depositions, records, official county documentation, and interviews to reveal the story behind this shocking crime. Includes photos

St. Augustine is Americas oldest city--and perhaps its most haunted. David Lapham's first volume, Ghosts of St. Augustine, has proven very popular. Enjoy another twenty-five hair-raising stories from the ethereal shadows of the Ancient City's murky past. Why is St. Augustine so ghost-ridden, so filled with spirits? Since the release of Ghosts of St. Augustine, the Ancient City has been the subject of numerous television documentaries and paranormal investigations. Ghost tours have burgeoned. Few have been disappointed in their quests for supernatural experiences. Come walk again with Dave Lapham through the dark, enduring streets of St. Augustine and shiver in the ice-cold pockets of air that smother you in the black of night. Listen to the gentle lapping of the water along the bay front and the distant murmurs of French sailors being slaughtered on the river. Come visit the Oldest House, the Old Jail, Ripleys, the Oldest School House, and all the many haunted B&Bs and other establishments that harbor wandering souls and spirits from ancient times. Chill to the ghosts you'll find in the Pumpkin Church, the Casa de La Paz and Casa de Sueños. Meet the warriors of Moultrie Creek, the ghost of the old Spanish Washer Woman, and the ghosts of the Minorcans. You'll encounter dogs and demons, herbal creations, and even ghost magnets.

This book is a true story of a ghastly murder in the nation's oldest city in January of 1974. The victim was a former New York City model who in earlier years had moved in the highest social circles, which included the Kennedy family of Massachusetts. The murder investigation and subsequent trial involved many people from the highest echelons of St. Augustine and St. Johns County.