Segui-Kirby Smith House

The Segui-Kirby Smith House is a Spanish Colonial residence on Aviles Street featuring coquina construction on its lower level and wooden framing above, built in the 1770s. The two-story structure displays the building techniques typical of that era and period.

The house was constructed in the 1770s and later became the residence of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith during the Civil War period. Today it operates as a research and archival center for the St. Augustine Historical Society.

The house reflects the lives of multiple families who called it home across different periods of the city's development. Walking through the rooms, you sense how the spatial arrangement shaped daily routines and the social structure of households that lived here.

The building now serves as the headquarters for the St. Augustine Historical Society's research library and archival collections, welcoming visitors interested in local history. Plan your visit during the library's operating hours to explore the materials and view the historic space itself.

Alexander Darnes, who lived in the house as a valet, later became a physician and was among the first African American doctors in Florida. His remarkable personal journey from household service to medical practice makes this address significant for understanding social mobility in that era.