The Fairbanks House - South 7th Street

This tour begins within St. Peter’s Gothic Revival Episcopal Church. Your guide will begin by giving a brief history of Amelia Island and St. Peter's. Hear the story of the visionary whose exhilarating dream so stirred his neighbors that they agreed to move their entire town to the site of a plantation he owned, creating "New" Fernandina in the 1850’s.

Expect the rare privilege, inside historic homes, of observing the uniquely gracious, yet intimate room interrelationships of another century. Allow yourself to get in touch with efforts to preserve the nearly extinct, pristine architectural styles within a small, gifted American town struggling to retain its fragile sense of family and community as well as its birthright and historical integrity.

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North Fernandina Beach Historic District
Walking Tour
(TOUR INCLUDES ONE OR TWO CHURCH INTERIORS
AND TWO HISTORIC HOME INTERIORS)

Historic First Presbyterian Church

Rest for a moment with your registered guide as you enter the intriguing realm of the past and the 1859 Classical Revival First Presbyterian Church. Discover how twin forces of one man with a dream and the Civil War shaped Fernandina’s extraordinary history, lifting the town and its fortunate residents into the 19^th century Golden Age. Then visit the phenomena of an ancestral block, the "Silk Stocking District," where handsome Victorian houses that rose one century ago to define space and street, still are home to original families.

The refreshing canopy of treetops and the human scale of the historic district architecture soothe the spirit. Stop at the Moorish Revival St. Michael’s Catholic Church for the story of Maria Mattair before arriving at the handsome, honey-colored Villa las Palmas, built as a breathtaking gift by a man for his bride. Then take a swing up Centre Street, which provides temptations by the historic Palace Saloon, the Ice Cream Gallery and the Fantastic Fudge Shoppe.