 Construction on the original part of the coquina shellstone mansion was begun by New York doctor Andrew Anderson Sr. in 1839, just prior to his death in a yellow fever epidemic.Anderson had first arrived in St. Augustine with his wife and two daughters in 1829.A portion of the land east of the residence was sold by Dr. Andrew Anderson Jr., the son of Dr. Anderson Sr, in 1887 to Henry M. Flagler for construction of the Ponce de León Hotel.