​Searching for Juan Ponce de Leon on the west coast of La Florida​

​En busca de Juan Ponce de León en la costa oeste de La Florida

There are lessons still ​to be learned in ​'The Oldest Wooden School House in the U.S.A.'

Todavía quedan lecciones por aprender en “La escuela de madera más antigua de Estados Unidos”

There are lessons still ​to be learned in
​'The Oldest Wooden School House in the U.S.A.'

By Miguel Pérez

​

The Fountain of Youth:
Much more truthful than it used to be

Miami — 1. Add to Ermita
             2. Add to Varela
             3. Add to Little Havana
                        A. Jose Marti Park
                        B. Miami High

​Searching for Juan Ponce de Leon on the west coast of La Florida​​

St. Augustine — 1. Fountain of Youth
                       2. Older Schoolhouse
                       3. Add to Father Pedro Camps Monument
                       4. Add to Cathedral of St. Augustine
                       5. Add to Varela Statue
                       6. Add to Downtown
                           A. Ponce De Leon statue
                           B. Government House Museum
                           C. Plaza de la Constitution
                           D. Historic homes
​                           E. Columbia Restaurant

Georgia — Fort Carolina National Memorial

Two Jamestowns

Baltimore — Marti Monument

Philadelphia — Don Quixote Plaza,
​                     Puerto Rican Migration Garita.

there are cannons, statues, historical parks 
recognizing the site where Spain


​— "unable to stem the tide of American expansionism," according to the Wentworth exhibit — formally transferred Florida to the United States for a measly $5 million in 1821. Heavily in debt and at the risk of losing Florida without compensation, Spain had no choice but to accept the deal.
​

The Pensacola Museum of History also covers other parts of Spanish Florida, from the founding of St. Augustine to the numerous Spanish missions established all other northern Florida and present-day Georgia from 1565 to 1763.

Here you see a diorama of conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his men as they arrived at a Native American village in 1565, on their way to establishing St. Augustine a little further north and that "they were greeted by the all, handsome, Native American Timucans." You learn that the Timucans were friendly to the Spaniards and that "Chief Seloy gave them permission to use the large circular village council house as their temporary fort."​

Diorama of Pedro Menendez de Aviles arriving at Native American village

Tallahassee
​De Soto Winter encampment??

There are few living descendants of the mission Indian populations

Surprisingly, while Punta Gorda and Charlotte Harbor are known for Ponce de Leon's demise in 1521, one historical mark​​er recognizes the death of one of his men during his 1513 expedition. And while the sailor's name is not mentioned, the marker makes a significant statement recognizing the race of the conquistadores: "First White Man Dies in America." (See photo).