Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, School building in St. Augustine, United States
The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse stands at 14 St. George Street near the city gate in St. Augustine. Its walls are bald cypress and red cedar, fastened with wooden pins and iron spikes; the roof has been replaced in recent maintenance. The schoolmaster's quarters were upstairs, and the kitchen stood in a separate building to reduce heat and fire risk.
The building first appears in St. Augustine tax records in 1716; no wooden structure in the city predates the British burning of 1702. It belonged to Juan Genoply and was used as a school from 1788, teaching boys and girls together. Dendrochronology dates the current structure to about 1750.
The building shows how schooling worked in early colonial times, with the schoolmaster and his family living upstairs while students learned below. The layout reflects how home and classroom were intertwined in those days.
The building is accessible to walk through, allowing time to explore the wooden construction and room layout. Visitors should know that photography is permitted and the space gives a sense of colonial-era living conditions.
The chain around the building was installed in 1937 to anchor it to the ground during hurricanes. The walls of bald cypress and red cedar are joined by wooden pins and iron spikes, and the kitchen stood in a separate building to reduce heat and fire risk.
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