A visit to Mission San Luis transports you back in time. Your destination is a community where Apalachee Indians and newcomers from Spain live in close proximity drawn together by religion as well as military and economic purpose.

Modern day visitors to Mission San Luis discover a re-created community where time stands still. There they meet the people of San Luis going about the tasks that sustained life centuries ago. They walk the plaza where the Apalachees played their traditional ball games. They visit the most important structure in the Apalachee village, the council house, and also stop at the home of the Spanish Deputy Governor. Visitors are welcomed at the church built under the supervision of Franciscans, and at the friary where they lived. Mission San Luis is a very special place where history comes to life.

Inside the visitor center you will experience artifacts and art in many forms.

Permanent Exhibits:

Mission San Luis Artifacts and History:

The history and archaeology of this 17th-century western capital of Spanish Florida is interpreted with Apalachee and Spanish artifacts from the site.

Spanish Colonial Art and Artifacts from the Calynne and Lou Hill Collection:

The exhibit gallery at Mission San Luis is showing devotional objects in the Roman Catholic tradition, including santos (three-dimensional, carved figures) and retablos (two-dimensional, flat panels/enclosures on which images of saints were painted). These period artifacts are probably similar to those used in the elaborate altarpiece that might have been in the church at Mission San Luis in the 17th century.

Special Exhibits:

Images of North Florida by Charles F. Manning:

On display in the Mission San Luis Visitor Center are oil landscape paintings by Charles Manning. These paintings reflect the artist's response to the geography, flora, and history of our region. Paintings are available for purchase.