Picture from the St. Augustine Record, 1951.
At the end of the 1800s, people associated St. Augustine’s holiday season with the arrival of wealthy tourists from the North, fleeing the bitter chill of winter. Snowbirds are still migrating to St. Augustine today, and have been coming consistently for almost the last 140 years. There was one time in the mid-20th century, however, that St. Augustine locals and winter guests alike had to make the best of a snowy situation.
On Friday, February 2nd, 1951, two inches of snow blanketed St. Augustine. Starting as sleet and turning into snow that night, this uncommon weather event set a record in Florida for snowfall— a record that would stand for three years until Santa Rosa County doubled it in March of 1954. People of all ages watched the flakes settle in awe before getting involved in the winter fun. Children and adults battled in snowball fights, and some raced down the Fort Green on makeshift sleds crafted from palm fronds and wash tubs. One child, Stuart Bridle, had recently moved to St. Augustine from Illinois and brought a real sled with him. This unorthodox decision made him the most popular person in town for the day, letting other people take turns flying down the Fort’s hill. Even city leadership got in on the fun, with firemen and police officers building a snowman in front of the City Building. Tourists from North and Central Florida flocked into the city to see this tropical paradise turned winter wonderland. The story was picked up nationally, with both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune running stories about snowy St. Augustine. While the snow had melted by Saturday afternoon, the joyous memories remained.
For many locals, this was the first time they had ever seen snow. The last time St. Augustine received any previously was in December of 1917, and it was less than an inch. This event was erroneously reported in The St. Augustine Evening Record as the first snowfall ever in the Oldest City. In fact, there were multiple instances of snow in the 1800s, with the Blizzard of 1899 being the last one before the turn of the century. Snow wasn’t a welcome sight for some St. Johns County residents, however, especially farmers. The cold snap that brought the snow in the first place had also caused the deaths of over 250 cattle in the state, and made over 500 more ill. Citrus farmers were also concerned about the cold. With several destructive freezes in the previous decade, anxiety over orchards was palpable. For one Saturday, however, most St. Augustinians and tourists alike reveled in the unusual weather.
Picture from the St. Augustine Record, 1954.
Three years after people spent their morning sledding, the city had a standard, mild winter. Some people missed the snow, like the Colee family. In late 1954, Scheila Colee, Danny Colee, John Colee, and their parents Marie and Charles built a sizable “snowman” out of Spanish moss and pine cones. They named him “Mossy,” possibly to evoke the popular 1950 Christmas tune “Frosty the Snowman.” The moss-man stood in tribute to the Christmas spirit in St. Augustine and served as a memory of the snowstorm several years prior. Whether it’s a sunny and mild or a white winter, St. Augustinians make the best out of whatever Mother Nature brings.
Written by: Sydney Livingston, Special Collections Assistant
Edited by: Robert Covert, Special Collections Manager/ Editor-in-Chief
Works Cited
Associated Press, “Florida Faces More Cold; Cattle Killed.” The St. Augustine Record, (St. Augustine, FL), February 4, 1951.
Attaway, John A. A History of Florida Citrus Freezes. Lake Alfred: Florida Science Source, 1997.
Lopez, Harvey. “First Snow In 34 Years Puts St. Augustine In Spotlight.” The St. Augustine Record, (St. Augustine, FL), February 4, 1951.
McCloud, Cheryl. “Snow in Florida does happen, but a white Christmas is much less likely.” Florida Times-Union. December 20, 2023. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2023/12/20/snow-florida-record-snowfall-lowest-temperature-christmas-snowstorm-great-arctic-outbreak-record/71983060007/
“Mossy, The Snowman.” The St. Augustine Record, (St. Augustine, FL), 1954.
“St. Augustine Experiences First Snow Fall In Its History.” St. Augustine Evening Record, (St. Augustine, FL), December 31st 1917.
Tebault, A.H. “Fifteen Years Ago Today, It Snowed, ‘It Really Snowed.’” St. Augustine Record, (St. Augustine, FL), February 2nd, 1966.
“Untitled.” The Tatler, February 18, 1899.
Resources:
Catalog of Copyright Entries (Washington D.C: Library of Congress, 1950), 3rd Edition, vol. 4, no. 1, page 282.