Approximately fifty years ago, the corner of St Francis and St George Streets in St Augustine was basically a sand lot. Over the course of two years, Altrusa International of St Augustine, Inc. transformed this sand lot into the peaceful St Francis Park.
While the property was owned by the City of St Augustine and was managed by the St Augustine Historical Society, the creation of the park was entrusted to the Altrusa Club. Over the course of two years, the Altrusans worked to create the park. They held several fundraisers and received many donations from throughout the community.
The Altrusans obtained professional advice from the St Johns County Agricultural Extension Department and many others throughout the community contributed to the creation of the park: The St Augustine Historical Society; the City of St Augustine; the Bicentennial Commission; the Florida Power & Light; and the teachers and students at the St Augustine Vo Tech School. Individuals donated flowers, shrubs, and money. The contractors, knowing it was a community beautification project, submitted reasonable bids and often spent more time and work than what was in the contract.
One of the Altrusans obtained a horse trough which became a fountain and focal point of the park. The statute of St Francis of Assisi was found in Illinois.
The dedication of the park was held during our country’s Bicentennial on April 3, 1976. There was a welcome by St Augustine Mayor Edward G. Mussallem; music by members of St Augustine Little Theater; and a dedicatory address by the Reverend Monsignor Terrell F. Solana, V.G. in which he praised the Altrusans for ‘providing an atmosphere of peace’. He also said, ‘the garden is a gesture of friendship and an inspiration for the community and visitors’
A Watering Trough for Horses – The Fountain
One of the focal points of St Francis Park is the fountain that sits at its center. Altrusans understand that the fountain came from Jacksonville and was donated to them by the Altrusa Club of Jacksonville (no longer in existence). The fountain has a plaque that reads ‘1909, Presented by The National Humane Alliance, Hermon Lee Ensign, Founder’.
The fountain was originally part of a watering trough for horses and is made of granite quarried in Vinalhaven, Maine. 1909 indicates the year in which the granite was quarried. Herman Lee Ensign was a philanthropist and humanitarian who left a significant amount of money to the National Humane Society which he founded. The money was to be used to provide water for horses across America. Approximately 150 fountains (horse troughs) were distributed throughout the United States. We are very pleased to have one of them here in St Augustine.
The Statue of St Francis
The club searched from St Louis to South America to find a statue of St Francis. They finally found the life-sized statue of St Francis that stands in the park today. The statue was designed and made by Rick Harney who was a student of August Schmitz. The August H. Schmitz Company was a specialized firm of church decorators and interior designers active in the Chicago and Peoria areas. The statue is in memory of Hazel C. Marshall, a charter member of Altrusa St Augustine and Martha V. Hieatt, a Board member.
The Obelisk
The Obelisk that stands in St Francis Park was part of The Obelisk Art 450 Project initiated by Compassionate St. Augustine as part of the celebration of the 450th anniversary of the nation’s oldest city in 2015. The obelisks are replicas of the 30-foot Monumento de la Constitución which stands in La Plaza de la Constitucion and were on display at various locations in St. Augustine’s historic district from October 2, 2015, to January 31, 2016.
Twenty-five obelisks were created by local professional artists. Each obelisk represented the values found on the constitution monument in St. Augustine’s Plaza de la Constitución: democracy, human rights, freedom, and compassion. They stood eight and a half feet tall and were done in a wide range of styles.
The ‘History Is in Your Hands’ Obelisk in the park was created by Leslie Robinson and featured photos of locals holding miniature obelisks. “I hope to concentrate on the ideals of freedom, democracy, human rights and compassion by focusing on the individuals who make up St Augustine’s community,” said Robinson in the artist’s statement. “While public monuments are erected to mark momentous events in history, it is individuals, and not official histories, who make daily progress toward positive change.”
The obelisk as it stands today has lost those photographs, but it still represents those original values – freedom, democracy, human rights and compassion.
