author
George R. (George Rainsford) Fairbanks
1820–1906
A lawyer, legislator, editor, and historian, he helped preserve early Florida’s story while also taking part in the state’s civic and agricultural life. His books remain closely tied to the history of St. Augustine and nineteenth-century Florida.
1 Audiobook
The Spaniards in Florida Comprising the Notable Settlement of the Huguenots in 1564, and the History and Antiquities of St. Augustine, Founded A.D. 1565
by George R. (George Rainsford) Fairbanks
About the author
Born in Watertown, New York, in 1820, George Rainsford Fairbanks became one of the best-known chroniclers of early Florida. He studied at Union College and later built a wide-ranging career as a lawyer, public official, newspaper editor, and state senator, with much of his life centered in Fernandina Beach.
Fairbanks is especially remembered for writing works on Florida history, including books connected to St. Augustine and the broader story of the state. He also helped found the Florida Historical Society and served as its first president, showing how seriously he took the work of preserving local history for future readers.
His interests reached beyond writing. Sources describe him as active in Florida’s fruit-growing and exchange organizations as well as in public life, which gives his historical work a grounded, firsthand connection to the state he wrote about. He died in 1906, leaving behind a record of scholarship and civic involvement that still shapes how nineteenth-century Florida is remembered.