Mission San Luis de Apalachee (also known as San Luis de Talimali) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

mission built in 1656 in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

, two miles west of the present-day Florida Capitol Building in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was located in the descendent settlement of

Anhaica Anhaica (also known as Iviahica, Yniahico, and pueblo of Apalache) was the principal town of the Apalachee people, located in what is now Tallahassee, Florida. In the early period of Spanish colonization, it was the capital of the Apalachee Pro ...

(also as Anhayca Apalache or Inihayca) capital of

Apalachee Province Apalachee Province was the area in the Panhandle of the present-day U.S. state of Florida inhabited by the Native American peoples known as the Apalachee at the time of European contact. The southernmost extent of the Mississippian culture, the ...

. The mission was part of Spain's effort to colonize the Florida Peninsula and to convert the

Timucuan The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

and

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

to Christianity. The mission lasted until 1704 when it was evacuated and destroyed to prevent its use by an approaching

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsSouth Carolinians. The site where the mission stood was designated a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on October 15, 1966. The State of Florida purchased the area in 1983. Archaeological and historical research continued for the next 15 years. In 1998, a project began to reconstruct some of the mission buildings on the site, based on archeological and historical evidence. Today, Mission San Luis operates as a

living-history museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings". ...

with reconstructed Apalachee and Spanish buildings.

History

Apalachee Province was one of the most powerful and wealthy chiefdoms or provinces in Florida and the

were the most stratified and populous native peoples in Florida, surpassing the

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

Potano The Potano (also Potanou or Potavou, Timucua: ''Potano'' "That is happening now") tribe lived in north-central Florida at the time of first European contact. Their territory included what is now Alachua County, the northern half of Marion County ...

Tocobaga Tocobaga (occasionally Tocopaca) was the name of a chiefdom of Native Americans, its chief, and its principal town during the 16th century. The chiefdom was centered around the northern end of Old Tampa Bay, the arm of Tampa Bay that extends betw ...

, and

Calusa The Calusa ( , Calusa: *ka(ra)luś(i)) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous Indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands o ...

. The Apalachee were part of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...

mound builders Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific people or archaeological culture but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks that in ...

and had well-established administrative and religious systems.

First contact

In 1528,

Pánfilo de Narváez Pánfilo de Narváez (; born 1470 or 1478, died 1528) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and soldier in the Americas. Born in Spain, he first sailed to the island of Jamaica (then Santiago) in 1510 as a soldier. Pánfilo participated in the conque ...

is the first recorded European presence in Apalachee setting up camp south of Anhaica near present-day St. Marks. In 1539,

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

wintered at Anhaica (in present-day Tallahassee) celebrating the first

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

in the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. In 1607, some Apalachee Indians requested

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s and the first ones visited in 1608. In 1612 the Apalachees made a formal request for a mission but the Spanish did not oblige. In 1625 Apalachees began to send food supplies overland to

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, the major point of Spanish control over shipping and defense of La Florida. The Spanish, however, needed the densely populated and extremely fertile Apalachee Province to provide labor and provisions for St. Augustine. In 1633, Pedro Muñoz and Francisco Martínez launched a formal mission effort in Apalachee Province at the request of Apalachee Chiefs'. In 1638 the first of 3 or 4 soldiers came to Apalachee Province to explore for ports and purchase foodstuffs for the governor. No evidence has been discovered indicating a fort or garrison was built then.

Spanish rule

From 1645 to 1651 soldiers lived at Asile Hacienda on Apalachee Province's eastern border. The soldiers and deputy governor were both removed late in 1651 and did not return until mid-1654 under a new governor. In 1656, Spanish authorities decided to establish their western capital on one of the region's highest hilltops for strategic purposes. The original 1633 San Luis was described by Spanish military authorities as extending for miles and being completely indefensible. The inhabitants of San Luis moved to the present site at the request of the Spaniards in 1656. The garrison was expanded to 12 and San Luis's chief promised to build a substantial blockhouse for them. Under pressure from other Apalachee, San Luis's chief said that 6 soldiers would suffice. Although the governor planned for further expansion of the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

and building a regular fort, Apalachee opposition to the project stalled it for well over a generation. The

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

at San Luis was described in 1675 as a "fortified country house." From 1656 to 1680 the size of the garrison varied between 12, 19, and 25 men. The Apalachee men and women were excellent agriculturists and provided much of the food for San Luis as well as for export to such places as St. Augustine and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Castillo de San Marcos The Castillo de San Marcos ( Spanish for “ St. Mark’s Castle”) is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida. It was designed by the Spanish en ...

. This was part of the '' repartimento,'' a colonial labor system imposed upon indigenous groups within territory claimed by the Spanish. These tasks pulled the Apalachee away from their own farms and homes, sometimes for months at a time. The first deputy governor, Claudio Luis de Florencia, arrived in 1645. Luis de Florencia lived with his extended family at old San Luis. Nothing is known about the nature of his residence. By 1675 more than 1,400 Apalachee and several hundred Spanish lived under the jurisdiction of San Luis. There were very few Spanish women creating a situation where the Spanish soldiers frequently married Indian women as a means to Christianize the native population and make them more "civilized." While the size of most other Apalachee missions declined sharply over the years, the population of San Luis increased.

Buildings

The buildings at San Luis included Spanish and Apalachee residential areas, the

Church and Spanish fort, as well as the native

Council House A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

, which is the largest known historic Indian structure in the southeastern United States at the time holding 2,000–3,000 people. In the early 1680s, the blockhouse was pulled down and replaced with a temporary makeshift

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

. The garrison was then expanded to 40 men, and sometimes even more for special expeditions. In 1688, San Marcos de Apalache at St. Marks was also built from lumber cut at San Luis, but it was left to rot when the skilled laborers were diverted to construct a fort in

Apalachicola Province Apalachicola Province was a group or association of towns located along the lower part of the Chattahoochee River in present-day Alabama and Georgia. The Spanish so called it because they perceived it as a political entity under the leadership of ...

in 1689. This fort was staffed by 20 soldiers and 20 Apalachee warriors. From 1695–1697 San Luis's new blockhouse was built. In mid-April 1696, the governor reported that it was completed except for one-third of the roof. Work was then suspended because of the spring planting. In 1698, San Luis Apalachees were seriously alienated when Spaniards commandeered some of their houses and land; Spaniards also took lumber intended for church repairs and forced Indians to build houses for them. In October 1702, an attempt to turn the blockhouse into a proper fort began after the defeat of a Spanish-Apalachee force on the Flint River. The fort would have a palisade and parapets, as well as a dry moat. It was apparently completed in 1703 despite the impact of a severe epidemic. At the end of July 1704, following a series of raids by English colonists from the

Province of Carolina The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and Sou ...

and their

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: * Creek people, a former name of Muscogee, Native Americans * C ...

allies throughout the Apalachee Territory, the Apalachee washed their hands of the Spanish. Unwilling to fight with the Spanish any longer, the Apalachee dispersed to the west, east, and north; some willingly, while many others were enslaved by the English. When San Luis was abandoned the Apalachee and Spanish together burned the fort and the entire village to the ground. Beginning in 1996, Renker Eich Parks Architects, of St. Petersburg, Florida, with Herchel Sheperd, FAIA, undertook designing the reconstruction of many of the buildings in the mission using archeological and historical evidence to conjecture the architecture of the buildings to how they would originally have been built. The buildings that have since been reconstructed include the Church, the Convento, the Council House, the Chief's House, the Fort and Blockhouse, and a typical Spanish House as well as many minor features around the site. Many of these buildings were built directly atop their historical location.

Today

Mission San Luis is a living history museum that features an artifact gallery of items recovered from the site, many reconstructed buildings, and third-person interpreters dressed in historical wardrobe. The site covers 64-acres and includes the history of the Mission and subsequent land holders. File:Mission San Luis - Reconstructed Franciscan Church.jpg, Reconstructed Franciscan Church File:Mission San Luis - Reconstructed Spanish Fort.jpg, Reconstructed Spanish Fort

References

External links

Mission San Luis official website

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
*
Leon County listings
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Leon County markers
*
Mission San Luis de Apalachee

a
Florida Center for Instructional Technology
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Luis de Apalachee Apalachee Mission San Luis Roman Catholic churches in Florida Mission San Luis History museums in Florida Mission San Luis Mission San Luis Mission San Luis National Register of Historic Places in Tallahassee, Florida Native American history of Florida Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Spanish missions in Florida Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida 1633 establishments in the Spanish Empire Former populated places in Leon County, Florida