Franklin Webster Smith was born on 9 October 1826 in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout his lifetime Smith dabbled in many different areas of interest including: abolition, writing, travel, architecture, and the business that made him his millions, hardware sales.

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A wealthy hardware salesman in Boston, Smith eventually amassed enough wealth to allow him to tour the world with ease. After seeing Europe and parts of North Africa an the Middle East, Smith eventually came to St. Augustine by way of his in-laws. Smith's wife Laura was a Quaker and her family had built a winter home within St. Augustine. Immediately falling in love with the area, the Smith and his wife toured Europe in search of inspiration. Greatly inspired by Moorish architecture Smith decided to build a home modeled after the famous Alhambra in Spain, it was to be furnised by Spanish, Moorish, and Middle Eastern furniture. Thus the Villa Zorayda (Left) came to be.

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When Henry Flagler visited St. Augustine in the summer of 1883, he visited the Villa Zorayda and was so impressed by its design he offered to purchase it for his wife, Mary. Smith refused and Flagler decided to begin his resort business in St. Augustine instead. Franklin Smith helped the crew mix and pour the coquina used to build the Ponce de Leon Hotel.

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Smith purchased land from Flagler on which he built the Casa Monica Hotel; Though Flagler controlled the railroads going in and out of town, business at the Casa Monica faltered. Smith sold the hotel to Flagler and decided that he wanted to travel elsewhere in the United States, eventually ending up in Saratoga Springs, NY where he pursued other business ventures.

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Smith's major contribution to St. Augustine, FL was his introduction of the Spanish/Moorish architecture which now can be seen throughout the city. Smith, an architect at heart once drafted plans for the Nationl Mall in Washington D.C., which he hoped would reach ancient Roman status as  a city of knowledge and education.



Out of the three main contributors to St. Augustine Smith's story ends the most tragic, Laura left him in 1890 and in 1906 most of his properties were foreclosed on by banks; he lived the remainder of his life in poverty.

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Smith died on 11 October 1911 and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.