De Soto Winter Encampment Site 1539~1540

De Soto Winter Encampment Site 1539~1540 (HM1I9G)

Location: Tallahassee, FL 32301 Leon County
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Country: United States of America
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N 30° 26.169', W 84° 16.12'

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Inscription
In 1539, a Spanish expeditionary force led by Hernando De Soto landed in the Tampa Bay area. Nearly 600 heavily armed adventurers traveled more than 4000 miles from Florida to Mexico intending to explore and control the Southeast of North America. The route of de Soto has always been uncertain, including the location of the village of Anhaica, the first winter encampment. The place was thought to be in the vicinity of present day Tallahassee, but no physical evidence had ever been found. Calvin Jones' chance discovery of 16th century Spanish artifacts in 1987 settled the argument. Jones, a state archaeologist, led a team of amateurs and professionals in an excavation which recovered more than 40,000 artifacts. The evidence includes links of chain mail armor, copper coins, the iron tip of a crossbow bolt, Spanish olive jar shards, and glass trade beads. The team also found the jaw bone of a pig. Pigs were not native to the New World and historical documents confirm that the expedition brought swine. These finds provided the physical evidence the 1539-40 winter encampment, the first confirmed de Soto site in North America. From this location, the de Soto expedition traveled northward and westward making the first European contact with many native societies. Within two centuries, most of the southeastern native cultures were greatly diminished by the affects of European contact and settlement.
Florida Heritage Landmark
Details
HM NumberHM1I9G
Tags
Marker NumberF-395
Year Placed1998
Placed ByThe Florida Department of State
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, December 9th, 2014 at 9:02am PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16R E 762319 N 3370284
Decimal Degrees30.43615000, -84.26866667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 30° 26.169', W 84° 16.12'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds30° 26' 10.14" N, 84° 16' 7.2" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)850
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1007 Desoto Park Dr, Tallahassee FL 32301, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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