Columbus's Chapel
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 29° 00.539 W 080° 56.429
17R E 505796 N 3208982
Located off Mission Drive at the ruins west of New Smyrna Beach.
Waymark Code: WMXH37
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2018
Views: 7
Over the years, this one-time sugar factory became a source of local building materials and myths. Salvagers carried off coquina blocks, and the massive machinery went to the Dunlawton mill, in present-day Port Orange.
Even so, enough remained to keep the New Smyrna landmark romantic and popular with visitors. In 1894, the Atlantic Monthly magazine published a story about the ruins by a well-known travel writer. Bradford Torrey liked the mill's dreamy setting and wildlife, and he also noted a curious claim--that the structure had been built as a chapel, perhaps "by Columbus himself!"
Torrey could laugh, but the Spanish story took root. Early postcards labeled this site a "mission" or "convent," and the ruins' owner--Mrs. Jeannette Connor--promoted the Franciscan fathers theory.
By 1941, journalist Charles H. Coe had seen enough. In a scathing critique of the "so-called Spanish mission," Coe rejected that origin and argued for a nineteenth-century sugar factory. Modern students of the ruins agree, but also credit Mrs. Connor with helping to preserve this special place.
Marker Number: None
Date: None
County: Volusia
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: Volusia County
Website: Not listed
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