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Long Before the Spanish Military Hospital was built
the first medical practitioner had arrived by the name of Hernando De
Segovia in 1578. He was a barber who carried a sword, shield and a case of
instruments to make cures. During this time Menendez the founder and
governor of St. Augustine had a sister who was a nurse. In the later 1500s
a many Juan de LeConte was the first physician to stay in St. Augustine.
He was in a ship wreck and taken prisoner by the Spanish. Rather then
being executed or taken prisoner the Spanish used him as a Doctor,
Surgeon, and barber in exchange for shelter and other necessities such as
food. In 1586 he was the official surgeon for the garrison. Then by 1599 a
second hospital was built after the Garrison which had a royal slave as a
nurse. This helped shaped the medical advancements and treatments in the
city of St. Augustine leading up to the Spanish Military Hospital.
The Spanish Military Hospital also known as The Hospital Of Our Lady Of Guadalupe was active during the Spanish Colonial Period from 1784 to about 1821. Also being that it has been on television stations depicting its Hauntings rumor has it to be one of the more haunted locations in St. Augustine Florida. Today it has been turned into a museum where one can see medical tools from that period of time. During that time period strange medical practices were used as grizzly amputations took place. Many men died at the hospital and some of them had battle wounds from the various raids, massacres and even fires that took place in St. Augustine's history. Visiting here will really make you understand what it would be like to be a patient here in the 1700s. The hospital is not very large and has an upper floor with visible windows on the backside of it. There are a few rooms within the hospital such as the Mourning Room where the Priest had tools for blessing the patient after death occurred. Then there is the Surgeon's office where they would complete hideous surgeries such as cutting off legs with saws. Then there is the ward where patients would recover there was many strict rules dictated by the Spanish government here. Then the final area was the Apothecary which is an area where herbs were grown to make the medicine and treat the soldiers. The herb garden still exist today. I wonder if they grew at that time Marijuana since it does have some medicinal uses of course they will not show you that perspective of things. Rumor has it people have seen flashes and many apparitions inside the hospital. Perhaps the most famous ghost seen in the back room is that of a one legged man hopping around. Kind of eerie if you do not work with entities and ghost. But it appears that some of the Hauntings here are very residual in nature. While we also visited here we investigated Aviles
Street which was named after the explorer Menendez based on where he was
born at. The street contains inns and many other small shops on this dimly
lit street. It also is home to the Spanish Military Hospital. If you
wish to learn more about this hero please read the further historical
piece below. Aviles Street is perhaps just as haunted as the Spanish
Military Hospital in my opinion. It is one of these stone streets you walk
down and your mind just races with the fact that anything at anytime could
happen. Rick-AngelOfThyNight
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