The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum, a long-standing fixture of historic Aviles Street, will launch the fourth chapter of “I Lived Here, As Well … The Story Continues.” Tours will run Feb. 8 through March 2. For tickets and details, go to ximenezfatiohouse.org/ilhaw.
Museum guests are invited to step into a 226-year-old boarding house and experience, firsthand, the stories of the people who lived within it.
The “I Lived Here, As Well” program is a series of interpretive Black history tours in which the tour guides are actors who portray several characters from St. Augustine’s past.
Some of these characters are people who lived in the house, like Louisa Williams, a previously enslaved woman who was freed by Union troops in St. Augustine in 1862. Other characters were crafted to represent enslaved and freed people who were documented as working in the house, but whose names never were recorded.
On the 2024 tour, guests will witness the unfolding narratives of both familiar and new characters, adding depth and intrigue to our ever-evolving tale. Those stepping into this narrative for the first time will meet a diverse ensemble of characters from various eras, each embodying distinct roles in the house's storied history.
Over the history of the house, many have come through the doors. Weary travelers welcomed through the proper front entrance, guests enjoyed the luxuries of home, with a bit of Florida style, and the ill healed in the midst of warm sunshine and clean sea breezes.
There were some who passed through the doors, however, who were unseen. Those who may have used the front door but went unnoticed. Some who never used the front door, as they rarely left. They lived there, as well, but their stories are not as widely known.
“I Lived Here, As Well” is their story.
The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum has stood on Aviles Street since 1798 and has been owned by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida since 1939. Learn more at ximenezfatiohouse.org.
“I Lived Here, As Well” and other programs are sponsored in part by the St. Johns Cultural Council and the St. Johns County Tourism Development Council.
