House of the Cannonball - So called because of the British cannon balls found embedded in the coquina wall, probably from the Oglethorpe siege guns of 1740, Owned and occupied by Joseph Tovar, it was sold during the British period to a Scottish merchant. Purchased by Don Geronimo Alvarez at public sale in 1790. After the Civil War, a Union General, Martin D. Hardin, made it his home.                Preserved by the Saint Augustine Historical Society since 1918

State historical marker

   Built early in the l700s, this house was owned by Joseph Tovar when the Spanish were documenting properties in 1763 and preparing to turn them over to the British after signing the Treaty of Paris.

   John Johnson became the new owner, but not for long. Florida was retroceded to Spain by the second Treaty of Paris in 1783, and the house reverted to the Spanish Crown. Juan Coruna and his family, recent arrivals from the Canary Islands, occupied the house until it was auctioned in 1791 to Gerónimo Alvarez with the house next door (Oldest House).

   Alvarez willed the Tovar House to the heirs of his only daughter, Theresa Llambias, who predeceased him, and it stayed in the Llambias family until after the Civil War. It was rented in 1885 to Gen. Martin D. Hardin, a former aide to Robert E. Lee.

   After a cannonball was found lodged in the east wall, the house was locally called the Cannonball House. It is owned and restored by the St. Augustine Historical Society.

   "When this old coquina house was renovated a few years ago by General Hardin for use as a private cottage two cannon balls of the very old Spanish time were found embedded in the walls, hence its name," wrote a Tatler reporter in 1892. "A detailed account of a ball given by General M. D. Hardin gives a good description of the interior of the house:

   "... The quaint old house of the General's, one of the oldest if not the very oldest, has been repaired and made thoroughly comfortable without changing any of its distinguishing features; consequently the long room used for dancing had bare time-stained rafters, plain white walls, and the bare floor was dark with age.

   "The other rooms and quaint old staircase are just as built three hundred years ago: the guests were ushered into the quaint old dining hall with stone floor, rafters black with age, old time mantel, where rows of candles were placed, improvised shelves around the room holding other candles that gave the prettiest light..."

    From Dr. Bronson's Tours and Walking St. Augustine, a guide by Historian Elsbeth 'Buff' Gordon