A rainy day in St Augustine often means flooded roads of mini-rivers, but why? The ​​explanation is simple, there was a river, or rather a creek, which rain through St Augustine. In the 1880s this water way was known as Maria Sanchez Creek which ran from King Street to Matanzas River, on its way it crossed under Bridge Street- which was named for the bridge which crossed over the creek. Where did this creek go? Part of the creek remains in the form of Maria Sanchez Lake but the majority of it was dredged by Heth Canfield, president of the St. Augustine Improvement Company. canfield was working in conjunction with Henry Flagler who wanted to use the land near the marshy creek to build his hotels. When Canfield received approval from the city Flagler order the construction of the Ponce de Leon Hotel. The creek was dredged and the marsh land filled with materials left from Fort Mose.​​

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​Text by Kayleigh Gades