Fountain of Youth - St. Augustine, FL
N 29° 54.456 W 081° 18.981
17R E 469460 N 3308588
Located just a couple of blocks off the OST, the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine, Florida, was likely a popular stop for OST travelers..
Waymark Code: WMR81D
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 05/24/2016
Views: 12
"The city of St. Augustine, Florida is home to the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, a tribute to the spot where Ponce de León is traditionally said to have landed. Although there were several instances of the property being used as an attraction as early as the 1860s, the tourist attraction in its present form was created by Luella Day McConnell in 1904. Because she supposedly purchased the Park property from Mr. H.H. Williams using diamonds and cash, she was also known as "Diamond Lil". It is said that Dr. McConnell had a diamond mounted in her front tooth, but this may be a myth. Luella Day McConnell fabricated stories to amuse and appall the city’s residents and tourists until her accidental death in a car accident in 1927. The first archaeological digs at the Fountain of Youth in 1934 were performed by the Smithsonian Institution. These digs produced a large number of Christianized Timucua burials. These burials eventually pointed to the Park as the location of the first Christian Mission in the United States. Called the Mission of Nombre de Dios, this mission was begun by Franciscan friars in 1587. Succeeding decades have seen the unearthing of items which positively identify the Park as the location of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés' 1565 settlement of St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America. The park currently exhibits native and colonial artifacts to celebrate St. Augustine's Timucua and Spanish heritage.
A rumor still exists that, although possibly diluted with city water and treatment, the city of Naples may have part of the mythical fountain's source running through it. Naples has some of the highest population of elderly and lowest mortality rate.
Author Charlie Carlson claims to have spoken with a supposed St. Augustine-based secret society claiming to be the protectors of the Fountain of Youth, which has granted them extraordinary longevity. They claimed Old John Gomez, a protagonist in the Gasparilla legend from Florida folklore, had been one of their members."
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