Timeline

1500s

1528 - First recorded European presence in Apalachee Territory, Pánfilo de Narváez
1539 - Hernando de Soto winters at Anhayca Apalache, ancestor village of San Luis

1600s

1607 – Apalachee asked for Spanish Friars, first arrive next year
1633 – First permanent mission established by two friars in Apalachee Territory
1645 - First deputy governor assigned to Apalachee
1647 - First known mention of San Luis mission by name; Apalachee groups revolt against the Spanish
1656 - San Luis moved to present site; Apalachees helped quell Timucuan anti-Spanish revolt
1675 - Permanent settlement of Spanish families began; first known appearance of"San Luis de Talimali" in written documents; San Luis Apalachee population counted at 1,400
1676 - Fray Juan de Paiva compiled anti-ballgame manuscript at San Luis
1685 - Governor Marques Cabrera's brutal deputy governor, Antonio Matheos, strained relations with Apalachees
1695-6 – Construction of the new blockhouse at San Luis
1698 - Apalachee people at San Luis insulted when Spaniards commandeered some of their houses, land, and lumber that was to be used for repairs and required them to provide labor

1700s

1703 - Apalachicolas attacked San Joseph de Ocuya, the first Apalachee mission to be destroyed
1704 - All Apalachee missions are destroyed by the English and their Creek allies or are dismantled by surviving Apalachees who had abandoned the province before the end of July; Remaining Apalachees from San Luis migrated to French territory in Mobile
1705 - Admiral Landeche visited San Luis with a Spanish force; found no people or cattle in the province
1718 - Spanish presence restored with a fort at St. Marks with a few Apalachees settled nearby
1728 - Last mention of Apalachees near the St. Marks fort
1763-4 - Spaniards surrendered Florida to the English; Spanish garrison withdrew from St. Marks; Apalachees in Mobile moved west to Louisiana's Red River to escape British rule

1800s

1803 – With the Louisiana Purchase, the Apalachees retreated from US forces to the backwoods of Louisiana
1823 - U.S. surveyors visited Tallahassee in their search for a suitable location for the territorial capital
1825 – The land around San Luis is purchased by Robert Jameson and Benjamin Clements
1860 – The center of A.M. Randolph's plantation that was up for sale with a ten-room, two-story house with lodgings for 50 slaves identified as the site of San Luis
1884 - Helen Dodd sold her two-thirds of the San Luis tract to Emile Dubois and Maximilian Berlitz but continued to live at the site

1900s

1921 - 32 - Katherine L. Bradley held ownership of the land
1935 - James Messer identified as owner of 362 acres that included San Luis
1938-39 - The Messer House is built, replacing the old plantation house
1960 - San Luis de Apalache (Mission San Luis) earned National Historic Landmark designation
1983 - The State of Florida purchased the central 50 acres of the site in September from James Messer's widow
March 1985 – Mission San Luis opened to the public with their ‘Rediscover San Luis’ site dedication
1996 - Descendants of the Louisiana Apalachees, led by Gilmer Bennett, revealed their continued existence and identification with their Apalachee forebears to San Luis researchers
1998 - The building of reconstructions based on archaeological and historical research began

2000s

December 11, 2006 - Groundbreaking for the Castillo de San Luis
March 2007 - Castillo de San Luis opens to visitors
May 3, 2008 - Groundbreaking for new Mission San Luis Visitor Center
December 13, 2009 - Grand opening of the new Mission San Luis Visitor Center
October 2022 – Mission achieved accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums