San Pedro y San Pablo de Patale

San Pedro y San Pablo de Patale is a Spanish Colonial mission site near Tallahassee that contains the remains of a church, several residential and work buildings, and a burial ground. The cemetery holds about 64 graves of Christian converts who lived and worshiped at the location.

The mission was founded in 1633 as one of the first to have a resident priest in Spanish Florida. English forces destroyed and abandoned the site in 1704 during colonial conflicts in the region.

The mission brought together Spanish Franciscan priests and local Apalachee and Timucuan peoples in a shared space. The site served as a meeting place where different ways of living and believing came together.

The site is located a short distance east of Tallahassee and can be visited without special arrangements. The area is easy to access and offers a clear view of the early colonial structures and layout from ground level.

Archaeological digs in the 1970s uncovered the mission's exact layout beneath the ground, revealing where religious buildings and living quarters once stood. The discoveries show how Spanish clergy and Indigenous converts shared the same physical spaces.