In Reverence: A Plan For The Preservation Of Tolomato Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida

Abstract

Tolomato Cemetery is the oldest-extent burial ground in St. Augustine, Florida. Founded in the era of church graveyards on the site of a Franciscan mission, Tolomato remained an active burial ground for the small, predominantly Catholic community through the end of the nineteenth century. Today, Tolomato Cemetery presents a complex set of material conservation problems and management issues that stem from more than a century of neglect and disrepair that is further complicated by a general lack of public involvement and interpretation of the cemetery's historical significance to the public in recent years. This thesis is an exploration of how this cemetery developed and what can be done to preserve and interpret it as an important cultural resource to St. Augustine. It includes a developmental history of the historic landscape and a survey of existing conditions. This thesis also addresses the curatorial management of the cemetery as an historic landscape by reviewing the four standards for the treatment of historic properties in the context of this site and providing recommendations for a site-specific treatment philosophy. The establishment of a nonprofit to be directed by residents that will oversee interpretive activities and public awareness is also proposed to improve and encourage public involvement in the care and management of this historic resource.