Ruskin in Hillsborough County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Landing in La Florida
Florida De Soto Trail
| | May 30, 1539 | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 31, 2018
1. Landing in La Florida Marker
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto has arrived here in La Florida, Land of Flowers, and stepped ashore –
My men can now offload our nine ships. We have sailed with 500 tons of materials needed for our long expedition ahead. Several scouting parties will be sent into the surrounding countryside to find a suitable place to establish a fortified camp.
”On Friday, May 30, they disembarked on the land of Florida, two leagues from a town of an Indian chief called Ucita. They disembarked the two hundred and thirteen horses which they carried, in order to lighten the ships so that they would need less water. The captain general, Vasco Porcallo, taking with him seven horse[men], immediately overran the land for a half league round about and found six Indians who tried to oppose him with their arrows – weapons with which they are accustomed to fight. The horsemen killed two of them and the four [others] escaped ”
- Account by Rodrigo Rangel
The De Soto Chronicles
The Conquistador Trail
King Charles V proclaimed De Soto governor of Cuba. For months, De Soto prepared for his journey to La Florida using Cuban resources financed from his own fortune.
The Native Path
The native Tocobaga people, living near
this page online
Erected by Florida De Soto Trail, Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Park Service, and the National Park Service. (Marker Number 3.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Exploration • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Notable Events. A significant historical date for this entry is May 30, 1539.
Location. 27° 41.472′ N, 82° 30.103′ W. Marker is in Ruskin, Florida, in Hillsborough County. It is on Gulf City Road Ό mile north of Cockroach Bay Road, on the left when traveling north. Marker is located within the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, at the south end of the nature trail parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3709 Gulf City Road, Ruskin FL 33570, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Tampa Bay. It is also in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Miracle at Cockroach Bay The Leisey Shell Fossils (approx. 0.6 miles away); Staking Their Claim (approx. 4.3 miles away); Ruskin College President's Home (approx. 4.4 miles away); Florida Honors and Remembers our POWs and MIAs
Photographed by Hermann Trappman
2. Marker detail: “The Landing” by Hermann Trappman
Hernando de Sotos expedition making landfall in Tampa Bay on May 30, 1539.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Gillette Community (was approx. 6.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
More about this marker. Marker is a large, composite plaque mounted vertically within a heavy-duty wooden kiosk.
Regarding Landing in La Florida. Hernando de Soto landed at Tampa Bay in 1539 and made his way north in search of gold and riches. A controversial figure in American history, Spanish Conquistador Hernando de Soto is regarded as a hero and brave explorer by some — and an overzealous madman by others. The De Soto Trail shows him as a product of Medieval Europe, a brutal society forged over 780 years of warfare. It also tells the story of the Native American peoples of 16th-century Florida, a highly advanced collection of chiefdoms struggling against each other
Photographed by Theodore Morris
3. Marker detail: “Floridas Lost Tribes” by Theodore Morris
Map of Florida showing the native tribes at the time of Hernando de Sotos expedition.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Florida De Soto Trail
Also see . . . De Sotos Expedition to North America. In 1536, de Soto obtained a royal commission to conquer and settle the region known as La Florida (now the southeastern United States), which had been the site of earlier explorations by Juan Ponce de Leσn and others. De Soto set out from Spain in April 1538, set with 10 ships and 700 men. After a stop in Cuba, the expedition landed at Tampa Bay in May 1539. They moved inland and eventually set up camp for the winter at a small Indian village near present-day Tallahassee. (Submitted on November 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 31, 2018
4. Florida De Soto Trail Map (panel to the left of marker in kiosk)
1539-1540
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 31, 2018
5. Landing in La Florida Marker Kiosk (marker panel is on right side of kiosk; map is on left)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 31, 2018
6. Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve Sign (on Gulf City Road, north of marker)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 20, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 7, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,333 times since then and 114 times this year. Last updated on November 21, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photos: 1. submitted on November 7, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3. submitted on November 8, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 7, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
