De Soto Trail Monument

De Soto Trail Monument. De Soto National Memorial. The De Soto Trail Monument was placed here by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. The granite monument was dedicated on May 30, 1939, during the 400th anniversary of the landfall of the Hernando de Soto expedition. In 1948 this monument and surrounding acreage were donated to the National Park Service., The text on the monument reads: “Near here Hernando de Soto with his men landed May 30, 1539 and began his march westward to the Mississippi River. This marker commemorates the 400th anniversary of his arrival on the shores of Florida.”, About Gumbo Limbo Trees , Also called West Indian birch or gum elemi, the gumbo limbo tree is native to Florida. It ranges from Cape Canaveral southward to the West Indies and Central America., Gumbo limbo tree cuttings are used as living fence posts in Cuba and the West Indies. The red, aromatic resin was used for the treatment of gout and as a varnish., Legend states that pirates carried gumbo limbo limbs with them to mark the burial spots of their treasure. Some refer to the gumbo limbo as the “tourist tree” because it stands in the sun, turns red, and peels., The gumbo limbo trees surrounding the monument are some of the largest registered examples in the country and are thought to have been here since the 1930s., Please help us preserve these trees by not climbing or sitting on them.