Historical report

6 July 1960

Arrivas House
tAvero Complex)


1. This history of the block where the Arrivas house stands was
developed for the late Spanish period. The Avero complex was established.
Documents from the Field Note Room of the Florida Department of Agriculture
were found basic to this study.

2. 1763 assessments of the houses identified in the Puente Real Estate
Map of 1764 as numbers 61, 64, 156 and 209 were located. Possibly the
assessment for house number 37 is also available. (My forthcoming trip to
Tallahassee on July 5 should be decisive in determining the existence of
an assessment for number 37.)

3. 1763 assessments for three public buildings have been located.

4. These assessments will be of help for the restoration work.

5. No exciting information about the Arrivas house identified as
number 67 of the Puente map has been located.

6. A certain Mr. Arrivas, who was the owner of the house, has been
located in Spanish documents. The information about the Arrivas family is
most sparse.

7. The St. Augustine Historical Society Library and the P. K. Yonge
Library of Florida History have been thoroughly searched for pertinent
information. This task is still continuing.

8. I have spent at least one hour every day searching in the English
period. My bibliographic information has been considerably widened.

9. Fifteen English plats of 1784 of St. Augustine real estate have
been located and transcribed.

- 10. The excellent cards of the first restoration program that deal
with the six houses earmarked for our restoration have been thoroughly
checked and found eminently accurate.

ll. Correspondence with experts in the Spanish Florida field has
been initiated to get their advice.

12. Printed material has been checked to be sure that we do not miss
some more easily available information just because it is easy to obtain.
I would like to call to the attention of ~r colleagues the second volume
of Siebert's Loyalists in East Florida (see in index under St. Augustine:
St. George Street). I also would like to call to their attention the work
of Lawson debunking the Oldest House. It has some interesting information
(especially note the footnotes).








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Historical report 6 July 1960



13. The translations of the Puente and Rocque maps have been checked.
a few (very few) errors have been found.

14. In my spare time at night and at noon I have finished the first
draft of an annotated report or article of the 1763 assessments. As soon
as I can check with the originals in Tallahassee I will try to put the
article into a presentation draft.

15. I am trying to get the Avero complex also into a first draft.
Until I get the photostats of the documents requested from Tallahassee I
will have to postpone this project.



Respectfully submitted,


Charles W. Arnade