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All the United States Florida St. Augustine Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse

Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse

It's a pretty creepy lock-up.

St. Augustine, Florida

Added By
Joshua Ginsberg
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An 18th century detention hall.   J. Ginsberg (Atlas Obscura User)
An unruly student, kept under the stairs.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
The 200 year old schoolhouse, built of cypress and cedar.   Dan Lundberg
Display at the museum.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
In the classroom with the animatronic teacher.   Cliff
He declares he’s “inocint,” but rumor has it he bites.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
The old school has been a museum since 1936.   Dave
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
New “inocint” student in the dungeon, June 2021   MarilynR / Atlas Obscura User
An anchor secures the oldest wooden schoolhouse during heavy winds   TravisMcGee / Atlas Obscura User
Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in the U.S. located on St. George Street, St. Augustine   TravisMcGee / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
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About

There's nothing like a visit to St Augustine’s Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse Museum to bring back memories of those carefree elementary school days of the 18th century: dunce caps, a privy out back, a schoolmaster living overhead... And a creepy Harry Potter-esque dungeon under the stairs, where they put kids who misbehaved.

This is what detention looked like 200 years ago.

Located in the Minorcan Quarter of St. Augustine, the original structure of the schoolhouse was one-room in a single-story, with an outhouse and detached kitchen. It first appeared on tax rolls as far back as 1716, but it didn't become a school until the first recorded owner got married and became the schoolmaster. With a new wife and kids to educate, the little cedar and cypress building was expanded to include a small upstairs living quarters.

Despite some features that now seem antiquated (like the dungeon and privy), in other ways the school was actually ahead of its time. It was the first to be co-ed in the United States, educating both boys and girls as early as 1788.

Since the mid-1930s the site has been a small museum, with displays of colonial life (including some spiffy animatronics), artifacts, early text books, and a never-completed Grove of Educators, an ambitious project intended to gather and showcase statues of educational pioneers from every country in the Americas (only a few countries participated).

Meanwhile, all these years poor Timmy has been stuck in that claustrophobic little dungeon–allegedly for biting–and maybe one day they'll let him out. He claims that he's "inocint," but even if he did commit the offense, after more than two centuries he's probably ready to behave himself by now.

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Schools History Prisons Museums And Collections Museums

Know Before You Go

The Old Wooden Schoolhouse Museum is near the Old City Gates in the Minorcan Quarter of St Augustine. They are open Sunday to Friday from 9am to 6pm and Saturday from 9am to 8pm. Admission is $4.95 for adults, $3.95 for kids (under 5 are free).

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J Ginsberg

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Collector of Experiences, MarilynR, TravisMcGee

  • Collector of Experiences
  • MarilynR
  • TravisMcGee

Published

March 3, 2017

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Dungeon Under the Stairs at the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse
14 St George Street
St. Augustine, Florida
United States
29.897333, -81.313578
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