Although John James Audubon was born in Haiti in 1785 and reportedly the illegitimate child of a French sea captain and a Creole slave, he became one of America's most revered and treasured nature artists despite his mysterious beginnings. His father, Jean Audubon, took him to Nantes, France, where he was educated in Paris, then traveled to the United States in 1803 with a false passport to avoid the Napoleonic Wars. After J.J. caught yellow fever and was placed in a boarding house in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, he began the study of natural history by conducting the first known “bird banding,” while drawing and painting birds.

Marriage and business bankruptcy ensued. This compelled him to pursue his nature study and painting as he sailed down the Mississippi with his gun and paint box, intent on finding and painting all of the birds in North America. He eked out a living, moving to New Orleans with his wife Lucy in the early 1820s, spending most of his time roaming and painting in the woods. Although America wasn’t ready for Audubon’s incredible works of art, the British couldn’t get enough of images of backwoods America and he was an instant success!

John James Audubon was lionized as “The American Woodsman” and raised enough money to publish his Birds of America, often regarded as the greatest picture book ever produced. King George IV was an avid fan of Audubon, thus electing him a fellow of London’s Royal Society, following in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin who was the first American Fellow.

During these years, St. Augustine became one of the abundant citrus capitals of the South. As the citrus industry thrived, so did tourism. Word spread of Florida’s expansive forests, exceptionally beautiful wilderness, and the crystal springs. It is reputed that, in 1834, Audubon came to St. Augustine, hearing of the fabled natural wonders of the region. This renowned wildlife artist explored the peninsula on foot, including a walk that he took through a prominent orange grove in America’s Oldest City on the old wooden bridge that crossed the Maria Sanchez Creek near King Street!

“My dog began to run briskly around, having met with ground on which he had hunted before, and taking a direct course, led us to the great causeway that crosses the marshes at the back of the town. We refreshed ourselves with the produce of the first orange tree that we met with and in half an hour, more arrived at our hotel” - John James Audubon, 1834

We dedicate our wildlife quarters to the National Audubon Society!

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