The Huguenot Cemetery sits just outside the Old City Gates at the northern entrance to St. Augustine's historic district, separated from the Castillo de San Marcos by a few hundred yards and from the present by about 200 years. It is the oldest non-Catholic cemetery in Florida, established in 1821 when Florida became a United States territory, and it is one of the most atmospheric and historically significant sites in the city. Before 1821, the only cemetery in St. Augustine was Tolomato Cemetery on Cordova Street - a Catholic burial ground that did not accept Protestant burials. When Florida transferred from Spanish to American control and a yellow fever epidemic swept through the city that same year, the new American administration urgently needed a Protestant burial ground. The land just outside the city gate was chosen, and the first burials took place in 1821, many of them victims of that epidemic. The cemetery's name is somewhat misleading - despite being called the Huguenot Cemetery, it is not believed to contain any actual Huguenots, the French Protestant sect that was massacred near St. Augustine in 1565. The name instead commemorates those French Protestants, and cedar trees were planted on the grounds in the 1950s in their memory. In 1832 the Presbyterian Church took ownership and has maintained it ever since. Among the 436 known burials are soldiers, merchants, early American settlers, epidemic victims, and some of St. Augustine's most historically significant early residents. The cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The oldest legible headstone belongs to Johann George Happoldt, who died August 15, 1821. The cemetery is enclosed by an iron fence and visible year-round from outside at no charge - the iron railings and old headstones visible through the fence create one of the most evocative views in St. Augustine at any hour. Formal access is limited: the Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery open the grounds to the public on the third Saturday of each month from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, with docents on hand to answer questions. Ghost tours stop here regularly, and for good reason. The combination of yellow fever victims, early American settlers, and centuries of accumulated history makes the Huguenot Cemetery one of the genuinely atmospheric places in a city that is full of them. Standing at the gate after dark, with the Old City Gates lit nearby and the Castillo visible across the street, is one of those St. Augustine moments that stays with visitors long after they leave.