FATHER MIGUEL O'REILLY HOUSE

Built during St. Augustine's First Spanish Period (1565-1763), this house is one of the city’s oldest structures. The first documentary evidence of a structure here appears on the 1764 de la Puente town map. Initially crafted with tabby, a cement mixture of oyster shells, it was expanded during the British period with coquina stone. In 1785, this house was acquired by Father Miguel O'Reilly, an Irish priest devoted to the Spanish crown. It was used as the Catholic Rectory and meeting place during construction of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. O’Reilly willed the house in 1812 to the Catholic Church for use by a religious order dedicated to education. In 1866, Bishop Augustin Vérot offered the house to the Sisters of St. Joseph if they would travel from Le Puy, France to educate emancipated African Americans. The Sisters converted the house into a convent and schoolhouse, opening its doors to students in January 1867. Ten years later, Bishop Vérot transferred the property to the Sisters, fulfilling O'Reilly's bequest. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the O'Reilly House has been open as a museum dedicated to the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine and their mission since 2003.