Obelisk marks freedom, compassion, history in St. Augustine

There’s lots to love about the St.Francis Inn in St. Augustine, Florida, a 1791 landmark in the oldest city in America with centuries of history within its walls, including a ghost tale or two. On the way back from town an odd statue caught my eye in the St. Francis Park across from the Inn, an obelisk covered in small photos of people. There’s a story behind this unusual landmark situated in a city park, and it connects to both the city’s Spanish heritage and the St. Francis Inn.

            At one time the Inn was owned by Col. Thomas Henry Dummett of Barbados, an officer in the British marines. He fled an insurrection in Barbados, arriving in St. Augustine and buying the property in 1842. Two of his daughters married military men who fought for the South in the Civil War. His other daughter, Anna, never married and later converted the home into a lodging establishment. A supporter of the Confederacy, Anna longed to honor those who fought for the South, so she raised money for an obelisk to be installed in St. Augustine’s central plaza. It remains there to this day.

            But that’s not the only obelisk in town. In fact, Anna’s obelisk was patterned after another.

The 30-foot Monumento de la Constitución obelisk was erected in 1813 when St. Augustine was the capital of the Spanish colony of Florida. The monument aimed to highlight the new constitutional government of Spain at that time and its focus on freedom, democracy, human rights and compassion. When the constitutional government in Spain was overthrown, these colonial monuments were ordered to be destroyed but St. Augustine resisted and the obelisk inside La Plaza de la Constitución is believed to be “the only surviving, unaltered monument in the world from this campaign,” according to a city historical marker. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

Jump ahead to 2015 when celebrations began for St. Augustine’s 450th anniversary. Twenty-five artists were selected to created artwork on individual 8.5-foot obelisks, replicas of the Monumento de la Constitución. Artists were asked to interpret the values attached to the original monument — freedom, democracy, human rights and compassion. Collectively, the obelisks created a “Tour of Compassion” from Compassionate St. Augustine Obelisk 450 during the anniversary celebration from October 2015 to February 2016.

            One of the oblelisks was created by Leslie Robinson and featured photos of locals holding miniature obelisks. It’s now located inside St. Francis Park opposite the St.Francis Inn.

            “I hope to concentrate on the ideals of freedom, democracy, human rights and compassion by focusing on the individuals who make up St. Augustine’s community,” said Robinson in the artist’s statement. “While public monuments are erected to mark momentous events in history, it is individuals, and not official histories, who make daily progress toward positive change.

            “By posing with a model of the Monumento de la Constitución, individuals accept the freedom to create their own relationship to history. The obelisk stands as a record of those individual moments.

            “Governments mandate civil rights only after the will of the people push these ideals forward, and change will always be instigated by individuals moved by compassion and the will to seek a better future. We are history. History is ours to make.”

            Click here to view more about Obelisk Art 450.

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by food and travel writer Chere Dastugue Coen, who loves unusual history.