Hidden treasures new smyrna beach12/3/2023 ![]() PIRATES ! Some truly fascinating individuals - Civil War blockade runners, Prohibition boat captains, and drug smugglers have frequented Ponce de Leon Inlet! During the 1600's, Ponce de Leon Inlet was possibly a haven for the English pirates, who attacked the Spanish colony of St. From ancient times, Ponce de Leon Inlet has remained a significant geographical point. Later, in response to Florida's real estate "boom" of the 1920's, the inlet was renamed Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1927. The Spanish first named Ponce de Leon Inlet, Mosquito Inlet, no doubt because of the infamous mosquitoes in our area. Ponce de Leon, landing at New Smyrna's Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1513, was seeking his "Fountain of Youth" but instead was met by the fierce Surruque Tribe, a branch of the Timucuans. This rumor, told to Ponce de Leon by Indians, was used to keep him moving away from Indian lands. LA INFLUENCIA DE ESPANA Juan Ponce de Leon came to the Americas in search of land, gold, and fame, but perhaps most of all for the "Fountain of Youth". Some survivors are said to have joined the Seminole tribe others left with the Spanish. Contact with the Europeans led to the rapid disappearance of the 40,000 Timucuan people and their culture. Many were not defeated in battle with the Spanish, but by the plagues of measles, malaria, and smallpox brought by the Europeans. Sadly within 200 years of Ponce de Leon's landing here in 1513, the strong Timucuan population had vanished. ![]() Many generations of Timucuans left behind evidence to speak of their lives at Turtle Mound. Used as a navigational aide for centuries, Turtle Mound, south of New Smyrna Beach, is now a Florida State Historic Memorial, which covers an estimated two acres and is 50 feet high. Later in the day ,the tribe gathered at places like Turtle Mound and the mound in "Old Fort" Park in New Smyrna to cook, to eat, to socialize, and to conduct ceremonies together. ![]() During the day, the Timucuans collected and hunted small game, fish, and shellfish. Baskets and fabrics were made of palmetto leaves, pine needles and bear grease, and their medical practices equaled those in the Old World.Įvidence of their lives here is still evident in numerous Indian middens (shell mounds) and burial sites. The Timucuans were an imaginative people, also using shell and bone to make items like dippers, axes, scrapers, and spear points. They wore ornaments of feathers, shell, bone and fish bladders. The male leaders were heavily tattooed and wore their hair in "top knots", smoothed with bear grease. The women wore clothing made of Spanish moss. These handsome Timucuans are most often described as tall and strong. The Timucuan Indians, who had a highly developed, complex social system, were a strong and aristocratic tribe in this area for hundreds of years until Ponce de Leon, the Spanish adventurer, arrived. NATIVE PEOPLES The Pre-Columbian history of New Smyrna begins thousands of years ago with the Native Peoples who lived and thrived here as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen. ![]() Augustine and Pensacola are recognized as older. Andrew Turnbull during the British Colonial Period. It is, in fact, documented as the third oldest, founded in 1768 by Dr. However, the "secret" is known by historians and archaeologists! New Smyrna is also one of the oldest European settled communities in Florida. One of the best kept "secrets" in Florida is that New Smyrna is a reservoir of history encompassing thousands of years. ![]() The Foundation For The New Smyrna Museum Of History In Southeast Volusia County, Inc.ġ982 St. ![]()
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