Juan Ponce de León Landing

DID YOU KNOW

Juan Ponce de León Landing

THANKS TO JUAN

Did you know there’s an argument about where exactly Juan Ponce de León landed first in America…the argument is between St. Augustine and Melbourne Beach. The official ‘landing’ spot of the Spanish conquistador is in St. Augustine, where he was thought to be searching for the Fountain of Youth in 1513. However, even the Fountain of Youth story is thought to be a fabrication.

It wasn’t until 1990, when Douglas Peck followed the route Ponce De León took according to the ship logs. He started in Puerto Rico and after carefully following the directions in the logs, he landed in Melbourne Beach, not in St. Augustine! His findings were published, and hence the controversy started!

Whether he was truly searching for the Fountain of Youth or whether his feet first hit sand in the 321 or just north of us, we have a beach named after the famous explorer. In 2005, the beach was named the Juan Ponce de León Landing. To mark the possible landing, is a large statue of Juan himself standing on a 3-foot platform. The beach is located off A1A south of Spessard Holland and north of Floridiana Beach.

Next time you’re looking for a nice relaxing beach day, consider traveling down to visit this beach. A bit secluded from the hustle and bustle of tourists, after enjoying the statue, you can put your toes in the sand and take in the beauty the 321 southern coast has to offer while thinking, over 500 years ago there was no one here, until a ship came onto shore!