The Fountain of Youth Park commemorates the 1513 arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in Florida and the legend of the Fountain of Youth.
People have lived on this site for over 3,000 years, since the Archaic Period of Florida’s history.
In 1565 . . . — — Map (db m79574) HM
The Fountain of Youth is maintained here as a memorial to Juan Ponce De Leon discoverer of Florida and its first Spanish Governor, 1513-1521 ——————In a document signed February 23, 1512, by the King of Spain, Juan Ponce de Leon was given license to . . . — — Map (db m188599) HM
Born in Spain 1460 Governor of “San Juan”, now Puerto Rico, 1509-1511 ——————He made the first recorded sea voyage to what is now the United States of North America, making his first landing in the vicinity of Saint Augustine, first permanent . . . — — Map (db m188600) HM
The Man Five hundred years ago, a fleet of three small Spanish ships sighted the east coast of Florida on the 27th of March, 1513. They sailed along the coast to the north for a number of days and finally landed on the 3rd of April, naming this . . . — — Map (db m188602) HM
The Conquering of Española Beginning in March 1494, Columbus sent hundreds of soldiers into the gold-bearing region of the interior of Espanola to build and hold a fort called Santo Tomás. Given Ponce de León’s military experience, he was . . . — — Map (db m188604) HM
Beimeni: A New Land to the Northwest Indian Slaves on Española were dying off; the Spaniards needed this free labor force and raided the Lucayan Islands (the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands) for more Taino Indian slaves. Between 1509 and . . . — — Map (db m188606) HM
After the 1513 La Florida Voyage When Ponce de León returned from his Florida expedition to Puerto Rico he found his settlement of Caparra in ruins. In his absence the Carib, a bellicose neighboring Indian tribe, and the Taino Indians had . . . — — Map (db m188607) HM
Site of the First Fort San Juan de Pinos built by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés A.D. 1565 destroyed 21 years later by Sir Francis Drake 1586 ——————— This tablet authorized by the following committee appointed by the City of St. Augustine, Fla. . . . — — Map (db m221849) HM
English: These cannons were recovered from various locations in Florida and the Caribbean, by wreck salvage operators. Artillery of this era, the 17th and 18th century, are rated by the weight of the projectile cannonball they fire. . . . — — Map (db m188692) HM
This cannon is a Spanish 'Long Nine' cast in Spain about 1750 AD. This gun fired a nine pound iron ball to a maximum range of three miles. Even though there are no legible markings on this cannon, historic weapons experts at the Castillo de . . . — — Map (db m188696) HM
On March 3, A.D. 1513 Don Juan Ponce De Leon set sail from Porto Rico in search of “Bimini” and the “Fountain of Youth.” On Easter Sunday March 27 he sighted this land and named it “Florida.” April 3, A.D. 1513 he entered the harbor and landed . . . — — Map (db m188698) HM
On September 8, 1565, Saint Augustine, Florida was founded on this site by Pedro Menéndez de Aviles. With him were 500 soldiers, 200 sailors, and 100 colonists. These colonists included stonecutters, carpenters, farriers, blacksmiths, clerks, . . . — — Map (db m188699) HM
Launched in 1797 and named by President George Washington, she is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world. These two non-firing cannons were part of the armament on board the U.S.S. Constitution — also known as "Old Ironsides" . . . — — Map (db m188790) HM
Native Americans, known today as the Timucua, begin to occupy the region that spreads from present-day Central Florida to Southwest Georgia. The Timucua were a loosely knit confederation of tribes that shared a common language, but were not bound . . . — — Map (db m188792) HM
Juan Ponce was born in 1460 in the village of San Cervas in the province of Campos in northern Spain. Historians agree on the place but not the date. Some claim it to be 1470, one believes it was 1474. He was trained as a soldier and fought against . . . — — Map (db m188796) HM
The dates of this arrival and departure are unknown. What is known is that the Calus (a) Indians were a very warlike tribe that did not want the Spanish in their territory, and so they fought with them and killed many. After two or three months of . . . — — Map (db m188797) HM
Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles was from the northern regions of Spain in a district known for its seafaring traditions and Celtic roots. In 1565, news reached Madrid that a group of French settlers, led by the explorer Jean Ribault, had established a . . . — — Map (db m188798) HM
Located Here on the Park Grounds The settlers of St. Augustine moved twice before finally settling at the town's present-day location south of the plaza in 1572. Franciscan friars arrived in 1573 and later established the first . . . — — Map (db m188800) HM
Changes to the Timucuan Culture After the establishment of St. Augustine, the Timucuan town of Seloy was renamed Nombre de Dios. The people who lived there were in closer contact with Europeans than any other Native American group in . . . — — Map (db m188801) HM
Spanish Buildings Some of the larger buildings constructed by the Spanish were constructed on mud sleepers — large logs split in half used as the foundation to build up from. This method of construction dates all the way back to . . . — — Map (db m188857) HM
The Original Settlement of St. Augustine Comes Back to Life On September 8, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles founded the fledgling settlement of San Agustín here in the field before you, establishing what was to become the oldest continuously . . . — — Map (db m188859) HM
You are Standing in the First Colony of St. Augustine On September 8th, 1565, Pedro Menéndez de Aviles came ashore here. At that time, this field was part of the Timucua town of Seloy — an easily defensible peninsula that would serve as the . . . — — Map (db m188860) HM
Copper cauldrons such as this had a wide variety of uses in Spain's New World Colonies. The rounded bottom indicates that this cauldron may have been used at a shore station in the making of whale oil, as most cauldrons on-board ships had flat . . . — — Map (db m188862) HM
In 1934, laborers at the Fountain of Youth began work to cultivate a citrus grove here on the property. Almost immediately, a shovel thrust unearthed a cluster of human bones. The sheriff was called and it was soon determined that neither the . . . — — Map (db m188866) HM
What has Archaeology Taught Us? This map details some of the Timucuan structures that have been discovered over the years. They include large circular structures (in red), and a large shell midden that was built up over years of . . . — — Map (db m188867) HM
This Timucuan hut would have been a comfortable shelter for two to three generations of family, providing protection at night from animals and cover from inclement weather. Timucuan Homes were mostly for shelter. Daily activities such as . . . — — Map (db m188868) HM
An Ancient Form of Transportation The word canoe comes to English from the Carib word kenu (meaning dugout) via the Spanish word canoa. This linguistic exchange occurred in the sixteenth century as Spain expanded its colonial empire . . . — — Map (db m188869) HM
Saturiwa was chief of the Saturiwa tribe, a Timucua chiefdom centered at the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida, during the 16th century. His main village, also known as Saturiwa, was located on the south bank of the river near its mouth, and . . . — — Map (db m188997) HM
This anchor was purchased by Walter B. Fraser and placed here in 1933. The ship's name and site of the anchor's recovery are unknown, but Britain's Royal Navy used this size and type of anchor on their famous 74-gun ships of the line. First designed . . . — — Map (db m188998) HM
This anchor is typical of early marine ship navigation, and weighs approximately one ton. A stock of oak would have been placed near the ring in the opposite direction of the flukes (also called hooks) to more easily secure them to the ocean floor. . . . — — Map (db m188999) HM
History of the Matchlock Arquebus The matchlock arquebus first appeared in Europe in the mid-1400s. The name is taken from its ignition source, a slow, hot-burning cotton or hemp rope called a matchcord, or simply slow match. The . . . — — Map (db m189000) HM
200 Million Years in the Making Coontie is a low and palm-like or fern-like plant that grows throughout Florida and the Caribbean. Coontie is a member of the Phylum cycadacaea. At roughly 200 million years old, this is one of the . . . — — Map (db m189123) HM
Dredging up a Piece of History For millennia, the peninsula of Florida was populated by large numbers of indigenous people who used the many navigable rivers as a superhighway to travel, trade and hunt. These natives flourished until . . . — — Map (db m189124) HM
A New World Workhorse Pictured here are the archaeological remains of a Spanish chalupa that was wrecked in Labrador, Canada in 1565 — the same year that Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established the settlement of St. Augustine in the . . . — — Map (db m189125) HM
A Natural Plant for Defending St. Augustine A member of the yucca family, this hardy plant grows all across North and Central America from coast to coast. With over 40 species across the continent, this evergreen is easily recognized . . . — — Map (db m189126) HM
An Early Warning System The Spanish were well versed in the art of war. They built watchtowers around St. Augustine in order to spot potential danger early enough to muster an effective defense. These two examples of mid-sixteenth . . . — — Map (db m189127) HM
TabbyComposition Tabby is a unique North American building material consisting of lime, sand, water, and crushed oyster shells. It is predominantly found in the Southeastern United States. Sixteenth-century Spanish explorers and . . . — — Map (db m189128) HM
The large clay jars placed around the grounds are early Spanish water urns called Tinajónes. They were placed under the eaves of houses to catch rainwater and were buried halfway underground to keep the water cool. The Tinajónes in the park vary in . . . — — Map (db m189130) HM
The first muster of militiamen in the Continental United States occurred on this site on September 16, 1565 Monument Dedicated by the National Guard Association of Florida July 2015 at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park Saint . . . — — Map (db m188700) HM
The first muster of Spanish militiamen in the newly-established presidio (fortified encampment) of St. Augustine took place in September of 1565. During the onset of the San Mateo hurricane Adelantado Pedro Menendez de Aviles assembled 500 regular . . . — — Map (db m92865) HM
