VIVA FLORIDA 500:Conquistadors in the Fabled Land of the Apalachee
Florida has the longest recorded history of any state within our country. Florida was the first place of European arrival in the Unites States. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the mainland, established a full 42 years before the English arrived at Jamestown, and 55 years before the Pilgrims took up residence in Plymouth. The first Thanksgiving took place in NE Florida, the first Christmas took place in the Tallahassee area, and the Pocahontas story actually happened in Florida with a Spanish explorer and a native American Tocobaga Princess.
The Tallahassee area played an extremely important role in the Spanish exploration, arrival and settlement of the mew world in the 1500s. Spainards were the first Europeans to settle colonies and several areas in N. Florida including Pensacola, Tallahassee, and St. Augustine, have a very rich history.
As 2013 marks the 500th anniversary of Florida, numerous events are anticipated throughout our state to commemorate Ponce de Leon's arrival and his exploration of our state in 1513. He really thought Florida was an island, and he explored much of the coast until he was mortally wounded in 1521 by the Calusa Indians near Charlotte Harbor in SW Florida. Our area played an extremely significant role in the Spanish legacy. Leon County is named in honor of Juan Ponce de Leon. Following you will find information of the important sites in our area. After reading, and , hopefully, visiting these sites, you can visit www.VivaFlorida.org for more information on historic sites, and particularly statewide activities planned for 2013.
MISSION SAN LUIS; 2100 West Tennessee Street, 850-245-6406 www.missionsanluis.org
From earliest European contact with the Apalachee, there had existed a Native "capital" village in the vicinity of present-day Tallahassee. In 1539-40, the Hernando de Soto expedition recorded it as Anhaica Apalache. In 1656, Spanish settlers and Apalachee Indians moved the village to its hilltop location two miles west of our state capitol. Mission San Luis became the capital of western Spanish missions and the Apalachee nation from 1656 to 1704.
With at least 1400 residents, San Luis was the only settlement beyond St. Augustine where Spanish residents lived among Florida's native people for three generations. Combined farmers, rancher, merchants and other trades worked to survive and thrive in frontier Florida.Cow hides were shipped to Cuba, wheat, corn and other crops were grown to feed the village, and surplus food was sold in St. Augustine. Indiad men served with Spanish soldiers in the military garrison, protecting the Apalachee from rival tribes and English militias.
1701 saw England declare war on Spain and France. Queen Anne's War almost wiped out the native people in Spanish Florida and southern Georgia. Spain's network of over 100 missions was destroyed. The English invaders burned down mission villages and killed or enslaved most Florida natives.
On July 31, 1704, English forces marched very near Mission San Luis. The villages burned all the buildings and fled. A few Apalachee traveled with Spanish families to St. Augustine. Others were taken north by the retreating English militia. About 800 Apalachee fled west to Mobile, a French village, settling there for a time.
Mission San Luis is a 62 acre archaeology site and living history village which preserves Spanish colonial heritage (1656-1704). You can walk through the recreated council house, church, settlers home, fort, and much more. Costumed village re-enactors will treat you to enactments of colonial life. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm.chaeological investigations con
DE SOTO WINTER ENCAMPMENT SITE
B. Calvin Jones Center for Archaeology at the Governor Martin House; 1001 De Soto Park Drive, 850-245-6444
The Governor Martin House is home to the offices of the Florida Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Archaeologicl Research. Archaeological investigations confirm that the Hernando de Soto expedition camped at this location during its winter in North America in 1539-1540 and that it is the site of the first North American Christmas Celebration. It was originally the location of Anhaica, the principal village of the Apalchee. There are no other confirmed de Soto expedition sites in the southeastern US. An interpretive kiosk, state historic marker, and exhibit inside the center explain the site's history and archaeological investigations.
MUSEUM OF FLORIDA HISTORY
R.A. Gray Bldg, 500 S. Bronough St. 850-245-6400 www.museumoffloridahistory.com
The museum has developed and opened a 3000 square foot permanent Spanish Colonial exhibit titled FOREVER CHANGED: La Florida, 1513-1821. Highlights include the arrival of Europeans to Florida with their interaction with Florida's native population. The second phase of the exhibit will open in 2013, and will add an additional 3000 sq. ft. that will address forts, missions, and the European colonization of Florida.
SAN MARCOS de APALACHE HISTORIC STATE PARK
148 Old Fort Road, St. Marks, Fl. 850-925-6216 www.floridastateparks.org/sanmarcos The history of this landmark began in 1528 when Panfilo de Narvaez arrived in the area with 300 men. The Park is located at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks Rivers. The Spanish built a fort in 1679 to protect the Spanish missions in the area. The logs used were coated with lime to give the appearance of stone. The fort was only 3 years old when it was burned and looted by pirates. In 1718 Captain Jose Primo de Ribera arrived to construct a second wooden fort. Construction begain on the first stone fort in 1739. Progress was slow, and the fort was less than half finished when the Florida colony came under British rule in 1763.
By 1787, Spain regained control of the colony and the fort. Spanish rule was challenged in 1800 by a former British officer named Willaim Augustus Bowles. General Andrew Jackson invaded the territoy in 1818 and took San Marcos, but eventually withdrew, leaving the fort once again in Spanish hands, where it remained until 1821 when Florida became a US Territory. The final confrontation at San Marcos occurred in 1861 when the Confederates took the fort, renaming it Fort Ward.
Today the historic site is open from 9 am until 5 pm, Thursday through Monday. There is a museum that displays pottery and tools unearthed near the original fort. Interpretive displays are available, as is a video recounting the varied forces that once occupied this site. A self-guided interpretive trail is open to visitors, and there is an excellent guide that assists you in noting areas of interest.
FORT GADSDEN HISTORIC SITE
State Road 65, Sumatra, Fl. 850-643-2282
Fort Gadsden, also known as the Negro fort, is a testament to the cultural diversity of Florida during the Second Spanish Period. This site lies along the banks of the Apalachicola River, and has interpretive exhibits and artifacts.
In 1814 an abandoned fort located 50 miles from the then US boundary, served as a base for the recruiment of Indians and blacks fleeing slavery in Georgia and the Carolinas. In 1815 Andrew Jackson constructed Fort Scott directly across the Apalachicola River from the other fort. Fort Scott's purpose was to destroy the "Negro Fort" as it had come to be known. It was a devastating attack that erupted within the magazine and killed almost all of the 300 inhabitants and the Fort.
