Founding of St. Augustine
Don Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in America with Columbus on
his second voyage, 1493. Leon and his fellows, not Columbus,
completed Spain's claim to the New World. Made governor of
Puerto Rico in 1509 and later deposed, Ponce de Leon, at
his own expense, equipped an expedition to the North in 1513.
A few years previous, Amerigo Vespucci had discovered and
claimed the South American continent for Spain. Two of the
mightiest nations in the world stood opposed for proprietorship
of half the globe. Ponce De Leon heard Indians tell of Bimini,
a fabulous island in the North. Historians do not unanimously
honor at full value the beautifully romantic story that Ponce
was seeking to find the fountain of youth. Yet it was not
incredible to men in that age- when the very existence of
a New World was hardly believable to those who had not seen
it with their own eyes - that those who had touched these
shores should believe in greater magic in this strange realm.
And certainly there is no legend more appropriate to the
beginning of America than that this new land should offer
men a vision of eternal youth. Indeed it has! With his able
navigator, Anton Alaminos, Ponce sailed and charted the ocean's
main artery, the Gulf Stream, shaping the destiny of oceanic
transport for all time to come.
Spanish Claim to Florida
The Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park in St. Augustine
is the site where Spanish conquistadors first came ashore
in what is now the continental United States. On April 3,
1513, in the season of "Pascua Florida" - as Easter
Season is known in Spanish (meaning Feast of Flowers) - Ponce
de Leon's expedition sighted land in the present vicinity of
St. Augustine and named it La Florida. When they landed,
the priest who had accompanied the soldiers said a Mass of
thanksgiving as the native Timucua Indians looked on. Ponce
de Leon took possession of the continent for Spain. In later
years pioneering Spaniards came to know St. Augustine Inlet
as Barra de la Florida although there is no direct evidence
that Ponce de Leon himself gave the inlet this name. With
the landing of Ponce de Leon, Spanish claim to Florida was
established. Spain was thus set squarely against England
on this continent. Ponce de Leon's claim in effect, covered
all of America from Florida to Labrador, from coast to coast.
And enforcement of that claim during the three centuries
to follow has indelibly marked the geography, religious history
and even the "native" customs
of the nation we know and love today as the United States
of America. The most vivid references to this early Spanish
history will not be found in books - only in the historic
landmarks you can see in St. Augustine today.
Important Archaeological Discoveries
The major archaeological discoveries at the Fountain of Youth
are indicated on the yellow map visitors receive when they
enter the park. Aside from the stone cross and salt cellar
which are housed in the spring house, five other areas of importance
are listed:
- Ponce de Leon's recording landmark and accompanying artifacts
- First Christian Indian burials in North America with Mission Period interments
- Timucua Indian hut foundations and relics
- Artifacts indicating Timucua habitation for more than 1,000 years prior to Ponce de Leon's arrival
- Evidence that Pedro Menendez's colony occupied the site during the 16th century.
Modern Day Excavations
The Fountain of Youth Park has been the site of many exciting
archaeological discoveries of national historic importance.
New archaeological excavations are intermittently underway with
funding provided by the State of Florida, the Fountain of Youth,
and Flagler College. The project, directed by Dr. Kathleen
Deagan, renowned Florida archaeologist from the University
of Florida, is a search for the foundation of the first wooden
fort built by the Spanish and the first Catholic mission constructed
on the site. As developments unfold, they will be announced
to the public.
Timeline of one thousand years of St.
Augustine History
As the year 2000 passed, a strong interest in the history of
the old millennium surfaced. To satisfy your craving to dig
into the past, we present an abbreviated time line of the last
ten centuries in the St. Augustine area.
- 1000 A.D. Northeast Florida's native inhabitants organize
themselves into large communities with complex social systems
and sophisticated political ties. The cultivation of corn,
squash, pumpkin and beans develops. Pottery becomes more decorative.
Skilled hunters, the natives are masters of the bow and arrow.
- 1100 A.D. Native people settle along the St. Johns River
and the lagoons and estuaries of the east coast where they
find abundant shellfish, river fish and wild game. A migratory
lifestyle gives way to villages and ceremonial centers.
- 1200 A.D. Villagers become accomplished fishermen, venturing
in dugout canoes to deep ocean waters to catch shark with baited
bone hooks. At high tide they stretch a net across the mouth
of the channel. Low tide allows them to easily gather the large
fish trapped behind.
- 1300 A.D. Shell mounds increase along the river basin and
on the east coast, as communities can now sustain growing populations
where food is plentiful. Intricate shell carving decorates
farming implements, hunting tools, drinking and cooking vessels.
- 1400 A.D. After centuries in Northeast Florida, native inhabitants
are well adapted, having mastered life in the environment.
They live, farm and hunt along the waterways in large, stable
villages and towns. Trade with nearby groups increases. Political
alliances of mutual benefit are forged. Medical knowledge rivals
or is superior to that known in Europe.
1500 A.D. - 1600 A.D.
- 1513 - Juan Ponce de Leon sails along the Atlantic coast
in search of the fabled fountain of youth. He comes ashore
somewhere in the vicinity and claims the continent for Spain.
- 1565 - Pedro Menendez de Aviles is commissioned by the King
of Spain to dispatch the Frenchmen who have built a fort at
the mouth of the St. Johns River. Menendez establishes St.
Augustine, then marches 40 miles with 500 men in a hurricane
to surprise the French.
- 1586 - Sir Francis Drake, returning from his trip around
the world, stumbles across St. Augustine and decides to sack
and burn the town. The struggling colonists rebuild the city.
1600 A.D. - 1700 A.D.
- 1607 - The English establish a colony at Jamestown. Piracy
becomes a way of life in the New World for unemployed soldiers
and mariners. St. Augustine gains a reputation as a no man's
land where recalcitrant priests, insubordinate soldiers and
those with criminal records are sent in exile.
- 1660s - Smallpox, yellow fever and measles come to Florida,
decimating the native population. English pirates attack the
town once again, but the small wooden fort is not captured.
- 1672 - Realizing the vulnerability of St. Augustine, the
Spanish Crown approves construction of the massive fort Castillo
de San Marcos. Slabs of coquina are ferried across the bay.
Completed in 1695, the fort has never been captured in battle.
1700 A.D.- 1800 A.D.
- 1702 - The English invade, destroying Indian settlements
and besieging the town. The new fort is put to the test as
the entire population of St. Augustine takes refuge within
its walls for almost two months. Once again the town is burned
to the ground.
- 1730s - The first free black settlement is established at
Fort Mose.
- 1740s - General Olgethorpe leads another English attack
on St. Augustine -- unsuccessfully. The Spanish repel five
attempts by the English to land at Fort Matanzas and Anastasia
Island.
- 1763 - Two centuries of Spanish rule comes to an end as
the Treaty of Paris grants St. Augustine to England in exchange
for returning Havana to Spain.
- 1776 - War breaks out between the colonists and the English
Crown as the united colonies declare their independence. St.
Augustine remains loyal to the king. Several signers of the
declaration are imprisoned at the fort.
- 1783 - The Treaty of Paris restores Florida to Spain. Many
citizens return to St. Augustine from Havana and Mexico City.
1800 A.D. - 1900 A.D.
- 1803 - With the Louisiana Purchase, the United States believes
it has a claim to West Florida. Seven years later it occupies
the area. 1819 - Spain cedes Florida to the United States.
- 1821 - Florida becomes a territory of the United States.
Migration begins from the North as settlers come seeking land
and opportunity.
- 1835-1842 - St. Augustine is besieged by epidemics of yellow
fever. The Seminole Indian Wars make settlers living on farms
and plantations in outlying areas flock to the town for protection.
- 1845 - Florida becomes a state.
- 1861 - Florida joins with the Confederacy in the War Between
the States. The following year Union troops enter St. Augustine
and occupy the town for the duration of the war.
- 1875 - Members of several Plains Indians tribes are captured
and relocated to St. Augustine where they were imprisoned at
the fort.
- 1880s - St. Augustine enjoys an improved economy as northerners
looking to escape the winter's cold head south for an extended
vacation season. Henry Flagler, a multi-millionaire, begins
to transform St. Augustine into the American Riviera by building
resort hotels and the Florida East Coast Railway.
1900 A.D. - 2000 A.D.
- 1910s - Sportsmen, adventurers and daredevils make St. Augustine
a destination to display their wild achievements. Horseless
carriages race along the white sand beaches. Ladies play golf
on the Fort Green. Aeroplaning becomes popular.
- 1924 - By presidential proclamation the castillo, the city
gates and Fort Matanzas are declared national monuments.
- 1936 - St. Augustine embarks on a journey of restoration
and preservation of the city's heritage buildings.
- 1989 - The Archaeological Preservation Ordinance is passed
requiring archaeological investigations to precede any construction
in historically sensitive areas.
- 1990s - A modern city with a proud past, St. Augustine is
poised to greet the new century with the same steadfast determination
possessed by the early colonists.
- 2000 A.D. and beyond - Striving to balance the needs of the new with the importance of the old is the greatest challenge the town faces as the new millennium arrives. May all our decisions be wise ones.
