Help preserve the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum!
Celebrating 227 years of St. Augustine History: 1798 – 2024!
Help Save Our Museum!
Help us preserve the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum! After 227+ years of use, hurricanes, and general wear and tear, the preservation, restoration, and overall maintenance are ongoing processes. By making a donation, you are ensuring the character, culture, and history will remain intact for current and future generations. Every contribution received directly contributes to the preservation of these vital spaces, safeguarding their rich history for generations to come.
Following the new Maintenance Manual from the Joseph K. Opperman, Architect (JOAK) 2024 Historic Structure Record, the following projects will be undertaken over the next two years to ensure the Museum is in excellent condition to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Help us to meet this goal!
Thank you for your support
Match Program:
The Ximenez Fatio House Museum on Aviles Street in St. Augustine is honored to have been chosen by the Jessie Ball duPont Foundation for a Match program to take place ONLINE between Nov. 1, and Dec. 31, 2025. We are in the middle of a very special preservation program to prepare our 227-year-old museum for our nation’s celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We have chosen several unique conservation projects we are offering for your support:
- Repair, clean, and preserve eight beautiful, hand-woven indigo bedspread that are nearly 200 years old. Each one requires about $3,000 for conservation.
- Upgrade lithographs and old prints with UV glass and acid-free backing to protect these historical artifacts from sun and humidity, including a drawing of Osceola, an Audubon print, and several prints of George Washington. Each print costs about $75.00 to $100.00 to preserve.
- Replace the iron works as needed in our 42 windows. The shutter dogs will be hand-made to duplicate the actual, original iron products on each window and will cost approximately $90 to $115 per window.
We invite you to sponsor any of these projects that appeal to you with any donation that you would like to give. We are launching a new Online Book of Gratitude that will list you as a supporter of your project and you may include a person to be honored or remembered with your donation. The Book Of Gratitude will be found permanently on our website. Every dollar makes a difference!
Projects your donation will help fund:
- Exterior and interior mortar repair and lime-washing of the museum.
- Restore tabby floors along the loggia and first-floor rooms where needed.
- Restoring the courtyard balcony floor to original lumber and specifications.
- Restoring 42 first and second floors window framing, glass, and glazing to authentic specifications
- Restore seven third-floor dormer windows to authentic specifications.
- Restoring and re-capping five chimneys to prevent bird-invasion.
Preservation vs. Restoration
Preservation: Preserving a historic building means maintaining its existing historic materials.
Preservation at the Ximenez-Fatio House means maintaining the building in structure and appearance — even the elements that were added after the original coquina house was built in 1798. For instance, the wing parallel to Cadiz Street was added in the mid-1800s. Even though these parts of the house are not original, we still preserve their structure and do not tear them down, as they are important to the interpretation of the property
Restoration: Restoring a historic building means removing elements that were added after a certain time period.
Restoration on our property occurred in 1939 when the Ximenez-Fatio House was bought by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Florida. Modern elements like plumbing were removed to turn the building into a Historic House Museum.