The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park is a privately owned park in St. Augustine, Florida, located along Hospital Creek, part of the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

. It has been touted as the likely 1513 Florida landing site of Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, although no evidence has been found to substantiate this claim. Recent research by amateur historian Douglas Peck has placed another possible landing site in the vicinity of Melbourne Beach in

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...

. The park contains a well claimed to be the freshwater source referred to by

Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas (1549 – 28 March 1626 or 27 March 1625) was a chronicler, historian, and writer of the Spanish Golden Age, author of ''Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las Islas y Tierra Firme del mar ...

in his ''Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las Islas y Tierra Firme del mar Océano'' and supposedly sought by Ponce de Leon, but there is no supporting evidence. Archaeological excavations made by Dr. Kathleen Deagan on the park's grounds in the 1990s uncovered remains of the first Spanish settlement and its fortifications in St. Augustine.

History

Beginning in the 1860s, there were a series of small attractions on the grounds of the present-day Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. These attractions showcased a well described as a "spring" and the attractive grounds surrounding it. The attraction was enlarged by Luella Day McConnell in 1904. "Diamond Lil", as she was known, fabricated stories to amuse and appall the city's residents and tourists until her accidental death in 1927. The Park was purchased in 1927 by Walter B. Fraser, a Georgia resident who soon relocated to St. Augustine, Florida and became active in local politics. During the 1930s Fraser organized St. Augustine's first formal restoration movement, which was the forerunner of the preservation program which eventually became the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board. The park was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2016. From 1933 to 1943 Fraser served on the City Commission, the last seven of those years as mayor. During that time he purchased the Oldest Orange Grove and the Oldest School House. He built

WFOY WFOY (1240 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News/talk format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, United States, the station is currently owned by Local Matters Broadcasting. The station is repeated in St. Augustine on translator W271CJ ...

radio and purchased the Markland estate adjacent to the Ponce de Leon Hotel, and served in the Florida Senate from 1944 to 1948.

References

External links

*
Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
- official site Museums in St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine, Florida Tourist attractions in St. Augustine, Florida Archaeological parks Florida Native American Heritage Trail History museums in Florida National Register of Historic Places in St. Johns County, Florida Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida