David Nolan is a true treasure and one of my heroes, who has researched our City's hidden, forgotten and long-neglected African-American and Civil Rights history, which we never knew about until he wrote about it after the turn of the 21st century, in articles printed in the St. Augustine Record.
From St. Augustine Record:
Historian David Nolan to receive St. Augustine preservation award
St. Augustine historian David Nolan. [PETER WILLOTT/THE RECORD]
By Sheldon Gardner
Posted Apr 11, 2019 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 12, 2019 at 6:59 AM
Historian David Nolan’s efforts to share St. Augustine’s civil rights history is one reason why the St. Augustine City Commission chose him to receive the Adelaide Sanchez Award.
Nolan said with time moving on, people who live in the city who participated in the movement are passing away and taking their stories with them.
“To me the task for our generation is to save the history of the civil rights movement,” Nolan said.
Former city Mayor Nancy Shaver nominated Nolan for the award.
The Commission can give up to two Adelaide Sanchez Award awards each year, one for historic education and interpretation and the other for historic preservation and restoration, according to a city news release. Nolan will receive the award for historic education and interpretation in a ceremony at 4 p.m. on April 22 at City Hall.
The City Commission announced it will give architect Les Thomas the award for historic preservation and restoration on June 10.
Sanchez was a St. Augustine native who worked at The St. Augustine Record and The Miami Herald. Because of her wishes, her St. Augustine home was sold to establish a trust for furthering historic preservation and education.
St. Augustine Mayor Tracy Upchurch called Nolan “a phenomenal storyteller” who has been a champion of the city’s history for decades.
“It is a wonderfully deserved award,” Upchurch said. “He is a tremendous asset to the community, and we’re fortunate to have him.”
Nolan helped start the nonprofit Anniversary to Commemorate the Civil Rights Demonstrations, or ACCORD, and helped bring national attention to St. Augustine’s civil rights struggles, according to the city. ACCORD created a trail of important civil rights sites in St. Augustine and also opened a civil rights museum on Bridge Street.
Nolan, who moved to St. Augustine in 1977, also helped record the first survey of buildings in St. Augustine. The survey included information such as the age, history and architectural style of buildings.
Nolan said he already had an interest in the city’s buildings before taking the job. He used to go to garage sales in the city shortly after he moved to town, which was kind of like getting a free home tour, he said.
“Then this job came up where they were going to go and look at old houses,” Nolan said. “That was a real treat.”
Nolan wrote “The Houses of St. Augustine” and speaks frequently on history, architecture and other subjects.
“Because of his extraordinary contributions as an author, teacher, lecturer, activist and defender of the accurate telling of our city’s history, recognizing that much of our city’s history lives on today through our city’s architecture, and because of his unwavering advocacy for historic preservation, David Nolan is the 2019 Adelaide Sanchez Award (recipient) for Historic Education and Interpretation,” the city announced.
Nolan said he hopes to see others recognized who he believes are more deserving of the award.
“I’ve really worked with some heroes over the years,” he said.
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