St. Augustine

80. Today the Fountain of Youth Archeological Site is located on what was believed to be the original location that Ponce De Leon landed.

Discovering St Augustine

St Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied city in the United States. The First person to discover St Augustine was Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. He claimed the area for the Spanish throne in 1513. When St Augustine was discovered there were already people living there. The Natives were called the Timucua. The Timucua were believed to have lived in the St Augustine area for 2000 years before the Spanish discovered it. The Timucua had survived

in this area of Florida by hunting and by planting some of their food. They also ate fish clams and oysters. They built permanent houses and villages. The men of the village were responsible for the hunting and the women did the cooking and caring for the children. The Tribes of the Timucua welcomed the European explorers and many believe that the first thanksgiving took place with the Spanish and the Timucua on the shores of St Augustine. When Ponce de Leon first encountered the Timucua he was in search of the magical island of Biminis. instead he found Florida he believed that the Natives had a Fountain of Youth that they drank from. The average age for a Spanish was between 40 and 50 years old however the Native Timucua were living to an average age of

Timucua Huts

The Fountain of youth is now a popular tourist attraction that helps to educate people about the Timucua and the settlement of St Augustine by the Spanish. Unfortunately for the Timucua they did not have any resistance to European diseases and their numbers were wiped out by smallpox and wars.