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
