Huguenot Cemetery, St. Augustine, FL: History, Legend and Visiting

Southeast Haunted Cemeteries
Headstones and monuments under trees inside Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, with the entrance sign in the foreground
Photo: Jared / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, was the city’s first public burial ground after the American takeover in 1821. Visit St. Augustine calls it the oldest non-Catholic cemetery in the state. It sits beside the old city gate, behind a fence, and it is usually locked. That has helped it collect stories, and the best known concerns a man named John B. Stickney and his gold teeth. This post sets out what the records say about the cemetery, what the legend says, where the two differ and how to visit.

What the record shows

Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, following ratification of the Adams-Onis Treaty with Spain. The Florida Department of State says the cemetery was founded that year in response to a yellow fever epidemic. The only cemetery then in use in St. Augustine was the Catholic Tolomato Cemetery, established in 1777, so a separate ground was needed. It stands just outside the old city gate and is also known as the St. Augustine Public Burying Ground.

The Rev. Thomas Alexander acquired the property and turned it over to the Presbyterian Church in 1832, and Memorial Presbyterian Church still owns and maintains it. Burials continued until 1884, when it closed. The state’s case study says overcrowding and sanitation concerns led St. Augustine to close its small burying grounds in that period. The state describes it as the first cemetery in St. Augustine dedicated to Anglo-American civilians and as a Protestant burial ground for much of the 19th century, while Visit St. Augustine describes it as a ground for people of any faith and any race. Memorial Presbyterian says city records suggest at least 436 burials.

Despite the name, no Huguenots are believed to be buried here. Memorial Presbyterian and Wikipedia both say so. The oldest headstone, according to Visit St. Augustine, is that of Johann George Happoldt, who died August 15, 1821. The state’s case study notes 19th-century funerary art, including work by Thomas Walker and members of the White family, who had stone-carving shops in Charleston and Savannah. Among those buried here are Charles Downing, a territorial delegate to Congress who died in 1841, and Buckingham Smith, a translator of Spanish colonial records who died in 1871. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

After closing, the cemetery declined. The Florida Department of State’s preservation case study says the gates eventually had to be kept locked and visits limited. A restoration committee formed at Memorial Presbyterian in 1989 to document the grave markers, and the Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery continue restoration and run the monthly openings.

John Buffington Stickney appears in the record as a lawyer from Lynn, Massachusetts. The University of Michigan’s William L. Clements Library holds his Civil War letters and gives his years as 1830 to 1882. Its finding aid says he graduated from Yale in 1856, served as an officer in the 35th Massachusetts Infantry, moved to Florida after the war and served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida from 1876 to 1882. It says he “died from yellow fever during a trip to Washington, D.C., on November 5, 1882.” A transcription of cemetery inscriptions reproduced on Wikipedia lists a Stickney monument at Huguenot with the same death date and place, but gives his birth year as 1832. The Florida State Archives index of St. Johns County officials lists a John B. Stickney of St. Augustine as a justice of the peace (appointed 1868) and then county judge (commissioned January 28, 1871, with a note that he resigned February 16, 1876). The index does not say this is the same man as the U.S. Attorney, but the name, the city and the timing fit, since the federal post began in 1876.

The legends

The most repeated story is that of “Judge Stickney.” Tour operators tell it with some variation. Ghosts & Gravestones, for example, says he died of yellow fever in 1882, and that when his children tried to move his body to Washington years later, grave robbers stripped his valuables and gold teeth, so his spirit is said to look for them.

The earliest version found in researching this post is a Florida folklore blog entry dated July 31, 2012. It describes a Reconstruction-era “judge” who died on a long trip to Washington. In that account, after his body was dug up to be buried elsewhere, a couple of drunks stole his gold teeth. Other tellings place the theft during the move, or blame a thief in the crowd. Many ghost stories gain details as they are repeated, and this one has several different versions.

Tour operators also describe grave robbing at the cemetery in general terms. That claim is covered below.

What the record does not support

No source reviewed documents the gold teeth, a theft, an attempt to move the body or a haunting. The legend traces back only to tour operators and the blog entry above, and nothing found about it dates before about 2012.

Some details also conflict with the archive record:

  • The title “judge” has some support. The state’s county officer index lists a John B. Stickney as a county judge in the 1870s. The University of Michigan finding aid, however, describes him as a lawyer and U.S. Attorney and does not call him a judge.
  • Some tellings suggest he died in St. Augustine. The finding aid and the inscription transcription both say he died in Washington, D.C.
  • Where his remains lie now was not confirmed. The Wikipedia transcription adds a parenthetical note that he was reinterred in Washington, D.C., but that note has no citation of its own in the entry. One audio tour says the monument stands over no remains. Neither claim could be checked.

General claims of grave robbing at Huguenot are unverified. The state’s case study describes locked gates and calls the site relatively secure from vandalism and theft, and no source reviewed records a specific incident.

Visiting

The cemetery is across from the old City Gate, next to the Visitor Information Center at the corner of A1A and Orange Street, according to Visit St. Augustine. Another listing places it at Orange Street and Avenida Menendez. Listings also give different street addresses (10½ South Castillo Drive and 3 Cordova Street), so use the landmarks. Visit St. Augustine says the cemetery can be viewed from outside the fence 365 days a year.

Inside, the cemetery is open only on the third Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery open it to the public, with docents available to answer questions. Admission is free, and donations are encouraged. By that schedule the next openings fall on November 21 and December 19, 2026. Confirm each date with Visit St. Augustine or the church before traveling, because schedules can change. The state notes that visitation is otherwise limited and suggests contacting the church.

Treat the site as a burial ground. No official rules page was found for the cemetery, so follow any posted signs and the docents’ directions.

FAQ

Is Huguenot Cemetery open to the public?

Only on the third Saturday of each month, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery open it. The cemetery can be viewed through the fence at other times.

Does it cost anything to visit?

No. Visit St. Augustine lists admission as free, and donations are encouraged.

Who is buried in Huguenot Cemetery?

Mostly Protestant residents of 19th-century St. Augustine, with burials from 1821 to 1884. The state names Charles Downing and Buckingham Smith, and the oldest headstone is Johann George Happoldt’s, from 1821.

Is the Judge Stickney story true?

The man was real, but the gold teeth legend is not documented. The University of Michigan finding aid calls him a lawyer and U.S. Attorney who died of yellow fever in Washington, D.C., in 1882, and a state index lists a John B. Stickney as a county judge in the 1870s.

More haunted cemeteries: Read about Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans and Pilgrims Rest Cemetery in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Sources

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Top image: Huguenot Cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, May 2012. Photo: Jared, CC BY 2.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons.