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Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse

The Oldest Wooden School House, situated near the City Gates of St. Augustine, Florida, is the oldest wooden school building in the United States. It originally belonged to Juan Genoply. Constructed much before 1716, when the state of Florida was under the control of Imperial Spain, the Old School House is a surviving expression of a bygone era. The classrooms of the school were shared by both girls and boys, making it America’s first co-ed school. The walls of this magnificent school building are made of red cedar and bald cypress, which are held together in place by iron spikes and wooden pins.

Today, the Oldest Wooden School House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in St. Augustine. It offers visitors a self-guided tour with a robotic professor and a student narrating the history of the ‘Oldest Schoolhouse’. The facility also features a number of other items and artifacts with the related information posted around the school building for the visitors to read. The enormous chain that wraps around the schoolhouse is also worth noticing. This giant chain and its anchor were added in 1937 in order to protect this historic gem of a building from any sort of natural calamity.

The spectacular gardens located at the rear of the house feature impressive exhibits of a rebuilt outhouse, an old well, and a kitchen. The major attraction in these gardens is the old ‘pecan tree’ that has been authenticated to be nearly 250 years old. The grounds and the patio are also home to a number of tropical plants, such as hibiscus and bird-of-paradise. Numerous shady trees and comfortable benches offer a comfy spot for a moment of rest. Other interesting exhibits, such as the cooking utensils used in those days and the copies of the books the pupils studied from, are also put on display in the premises of the school house.

• Address: 14 St. George Street, Saint Augustine, FL 32084
• Telephone: (888) 653-7245
• Hours: Open everyday except Christmas from 9 am to 5 pm with extended summer hours
  
• Website: www.oldestwoodenschoolhouse.com

Top 5 National Parks

1. Great Smoky Mountains
2. Grand Canyon
3. Yosemite
4. Olympic
   
5. Yellowstone

All 58 national parks.