Where the facts come from
Bracketed numbers in every adventure point here. Game text, magical objects, ciphers and fictional characters are original inventions. A real fact is never evidence that a magical event happened.
Then and Now The City Gates. Surviving gates constructed in 1808.
www.nps.gov ↗Coquina The Rock that Saved St Augustine. Shell limestone; construction began in 1672; attacks in 1702 and 1740; response to cannon impacts.
www.nps.gov ↗Historic Preservation Master Plan 2018. Constitution Monument and the plaza name associated with the Constitution of 1812.
www.citystaug.com ↗Castillo and Fort Matanzas Junior Ranger Activity Book. National transfers by agreement rather than defeat in battle; transition dates.
www.nps.gov ↗Huguenot Cemetery National Register announcement. Protestant public burial ground; closed in 1884.
dos.fl.gov ↗Our Campus. Cemetery burial period 1821–1884; used with S5.
memorialpcusa.org ↗Historical Virtual Tours. Hotel opening in 1888; winter season; transition to college in 1968.
www.flagler.edu ↗History. Former Alcazar hotel, completed in 1888; museum address.
lightnermuseum.org ↗Bridge of Lions restoration announcement January 16 2026. Statue removal and seawall project. Confirms a construction risk, not the project’s present completion status.
www.citystaug.com ↗United States v Huertas 33 US 475 1834. 10,000-acre claim; 1813 concession; 1816 title; 1818 survey; affirmation; ten children and fourteen people held in slavery stated in the petition as recounted by the opinion.
supreme.justia.com ↗United States v Huertas 34 US 171 1835. Separate 15,000-acre claim; validity upheld with a conforming survey required.
supreme.justia.com ↗The Second Spanish Period 1784 to 1821. 1783 peace settlement; Spanish period and transition to U.S. rule.
www.nps.gov ↗Social Studies 2025. Fifth-grade exploration benchmarks SS.5.A.3.1 to SS.5.A.3.3.
www.fldoe.org ↗Weather benchmark SC.5.E.7.3. Weather variables; missions address selected observations.
www.cpalms.org ↗Adaptations benchmark SC.5.L.17.1. Animal and plant adaptations; parent benchmark reproduced on this official export.
www.cpalms.org ↗What is the North Star and How Do You Find It. Polaris, true north, rotation, and pointer stars.
science.nasa.gov ↗Why Does the Ocean Have Waves. Wind-generated waves and the distinction from tides.
oceantoday.noaa.gov ↗Osprey at Fort Matanzas. Fishing adaptations and feet-first hunting; no sightings promised.
www.nps.gov ↗California Brown Pelican. How a brown pelican uses its expandable pouch to scoop fish.
home.nps.gov ↗British Attacks on St Augustine. 1702 and 1740 wars, southern supply access, and Montiano’s decision.
www.nps.gov ↗Castillo Virtual Junior Ranger. Bastions, construction labor, names, and 1837 escape uncertainty.
www.nps.gov ↗The Massacre of the French. 1565 expeditions, hurricane, Seloy, Fort Caroline, and consequences.
www.nps.gov ↗St Augustine Town Plan Historic District. 1513 and 1565 chronology, Indigenous land, plaza, and architectural periods.
www.nps.gov ↗African Americans in St Augustine 1565 to 1821. Free and enslaved people, Fort Mose, and conditions of freedom.
www.nps.gov ↗Adams Onis Treaty 1819 Article VIII. Private grant protection and conditions; distinguish title from sovereignty.
avalon.law.yale.edu ↗Sir Francis Drake. Privateering, the 1586 attack, and differing English and Spanish perspectives.
www.nps.gov ↗The settlement established in 1738 as the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States.
floridastateparks.org ↗Photo credits
Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under the licenses shown (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA). Click a title for the original file, author and full license. Some images are cropped or resized.
- Villalonga House, St. George Street, Colonial Quarter, St. Augustine, FL, by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Castillo de San Marcos Fort Panorama 1, by Jon Zander (Digon3), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Gazebo at Plaza de la Constitución, St. Augustine, by Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, FL, by A345321, CC0
- Fort Matanzas National Monument (49890071031), by Matthew Dillon, CC BY 2.0
- Ponce de León Hotel - Flagler College, by Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bridge of Lions opened for a replica pirate ship - from southwest (2012), by Gary Leavens, CC BY-SA 2.0
- San Pablo Bastion, Castillo de San Marcos, by Juliancolton, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Huguenot Cemetery, St. Augustine, by Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lightner Museum inner courtyard, by Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Benet Store, St. George Street, Colonial Quarter, St. Augustine, FL, by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Old City Gates, St. Augustine 02, by Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Aerial view over the Matanzas Bay of Castillo de San Marcos St. Augustine, Florida, by Jonthomascampbell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Aviles Street, seen from the north, St. Augustine 01, by Kiran891, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lightner Museum - former Hotel Alcazar, by JamFred21701, CC BY-SA 4.0