The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum located at 20 Aviles Street in downtown, historic St. Augustine is currently decorated in 1800s Christmas motif during the holidays. The display will be in place for visitors until January 1.

According to Julie Vaill Gatlin, the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum’s Executive Director, tours will include viewing through the 16-room, two story lifestyle museum which depicts one of the earliest boarding houses in St. Augustine. Each bedroom will display a specific holiday motif to reflect the typical guest interests such as a Sea Captain, Military Officer, a ‘frail’ lady, and a family traveling with children, to name a few. Research and preparation of the traditional décor is provided by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Florida (NSCDA-FL) member volunteers from St. Augustine and Jacksonville, and is designed to showcase the house as it would have looked during a mid-1800s.

The Christmas motif includes native greenery including magnolia, long leaf pine, and sand pine along with red cedar, coontie and palmetto palms, Palatka holly, Spanish moss, ivy, and seashells, to name a few. Winter squash, oranges, pumpkins, pomegranates, red and green cabbage, kale, pine cones and nuts are also be used as holiday adornments. Bayberry candles and fireplaces light the rooms to augment the natural light.

The Ximenez-Fatio House was built in 1798 by Andres Ximenez, a Spanish storekeeper, the original portion of the coquina house and the detached kitchen became a general store, tavern, private residence and fine boarding house for military officers, sea captains, dignitaries and families from the north and south. The property was purchased by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Florida (NSCDA-FL) in 1939 and became one of the South’s most authentically preserved and accurately interpreted historic house museums according to several national experts.

The property has been owned and operated as a business by women since 1823, when Florida became a territory of the United States. Margaret Cook, bought the original structure from the Ximenez heirs and turned the building into a boarding house to accommodate visitors coming to St. Augustine and hired Eliza Whitehurst to run the operation. Sarah Petty Anderson then purchased the House in 1838 and retained Louisa Fatio to manage the boarding facility. Miss Fatio bought and enlarged the House in 1855. Ultimately, the NSCDA-FL purchased the property from a Fatio heir.

As a single woman who raised four nieces and one nephew, Miss Fatio had previously operated two boarding houses. She was an educated woman who spoke four languages. Miss Fatio was the daughter of Don Francisco Felipe Fatio, a prominent, successful businessman and landowner in northeast Florida. He was a native of Switzerland and established the New Switzerland Plantation during the mid-1700s in what is now the Switzerland community on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville, Fla.

The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum is open for tours from Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 3 pm and guided tours of the buildings and rooms are available from 10 am until 2:30 pm, closed on Sundays and Mondays. The property is available for group functions including weddings and events. During tours, regular admission is $5 for St. Johns County residents; adults $10; children, students, seniors and military $8, and the family rate is $25. Private group rates are $6.50 per person.

The Ximenez-Fatio House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Buildings Survey. It is a Florida Heritage Landmark and is also recognized as an integral part of the St. Augustine Town Plan National Historic Landmark District. The House is rated as a top attraction in St. Augustine by TripExpert along with TripAdvisor as a Certificate of Excellence designation venue, awarded to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn the highest levels of reviews from travelers.

The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in The State of Florida (NSCDA-FL) was incorporated in 1899. In 1939, they bought the Ximenez-Fatio House from the Fatio heirs to use as their state house museum. Considered as one of St. Augustine’s best-preserved Spanish colonial dwellings, the museum depicts the boarding house lifestyle of Florida’s Territorial/Early Statehood Period. It is one of the first museums in America to interpret 19th century women’s history. Visit Twitter at https://twitter.com/XFHouse and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/XFHouse?v=wall&viewas=0. View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDp_Nr7IAzU.