American Myth Debunked: The "Real" First Thanksgiving in Florida

CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, FIRST "NEW WORLD " SETTLEMENTS IN FLORIDA

Plymouth and Pilgrims connote to most Americans the scene of the very first Thanksgiving. So when you hear that Florida hosted the "real" first Thanksgiving, not Plymouth, Mass, does it raise an eyebrow?  There's a Florida organization aiming to bust one of the most popular American history myths with education.  The stories we learned as children (and our kids are still learning) were stories, it appears -- an ongoing generational myth.  Forget those textbook images of English Pilgrims and instead picture a more balmy southern setting for Thanksgiving in the Sunshine State. 

Florida historians want Americans to know that the "real" first Thanksgiving was in St. Augustine, long before the Pilgrim landing, when Spanish explorers hosted a Thanksgiving feast with the Florida Timucua indians as guests.   Come to Florida if you wish to explore the oldest cities in the United States where European settlement of the "New World" began.  Here’s what VivaFlorida says…

Florida’s Spanish Colonial Heritage:

“The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by Spanish explorers, not pilgrims, in St. Augustine on September 8, 1565, between the Spanish and Timucuan tribe 56 years before the Mayflower landed at Plymouth in 1621. The first permanent European settlement in North America, and America’s “oldest city” is St. Augustine. St. Augustine was also the first U.S city to plot streets. The first European settlement attempt in the continental United States was made in Pensacola by Tristán de Luna in August 1559. In 1513, Ponce de Leon landed on Florida’s east coast and named the peninsula Florida as the season was Pascua Florida, (Flowery Easter). "

Another online source, Wikipedia states:

Pedro Menendez deAviles Statue, St. Augustine, FL

"The first recorded Thanksgiving ceremony took place on September 8, 1565, when 600 Spanish settlers, under the leadership of Pedro Menendez de Aviles, landed at what is now St. Augustine, Florida and immediately held a Mass of Thanksgiving for their safe delivery to the New World; there followed a feast and celebration. As the La Florida colony did become part of the United States, this can be classified as the first Thanksgiving, although it was not a harvest festival."

PERHAPS A SANGRIA TOAST TO THE SPANISH THIS THANKSGIVING?

So it appears that Spanish explorers celebrated the first recorded Thanksgiving mass (i.e. thank God we survived the journey) and a feast long before the pilgrims in what is now Augustine, Florida, America's oldest city. Maybe at Thanksgiving we should toast the Spaniards with a glass of Sangria, perhaps?

In fact, the Catholic church (Diocese of St. Augustine) has in its possession some of the oldest known European documents recorded in the U.S. -- marriage, births, deaths, and confirmation records. These ancient church documents shed light on the earliest Spanish residents in St. Augustine, Florida from 1594 to 1763.  One marriage record is dated January 1594 (i.e. 26 years before the well-known Pilgrim arrival at Plymouth.)

Another artifact at the Diocese in St. Augustine is reportedly "a piece of the coffin belonging to Pedo Menendez deAviles, the Spanish Navy admiral who founded St. Augustine in 1565," according to an Associated Press article dated November 11, 2009.

But, hey -- where are the docs that date back even further?  "Missing from the collection are the documents from the first 29 years of Catholic life in St. Augustine... they may have been destroyed by Sir Francis Drake, the English privateer, who sacked the town in 1586," states the AP article.

"OLDIES BUT GOODIES"  -- ST. AUGUSTINE AND FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA

While St. Augustine is the oldest city in the U.S., the barrier island a bit to the north, Amelia Island, Florida, is home to the second oldest city, Fernandina Beach, and is the only location in U.S. to have been under 8 flags..

Fernandina Beach, Florida, the second oldest city in the United States

Local residents know, and visitors soon discover, that Amelia Island is called “the Isle of Eight Flags."  In the 450 year history of Amelia Island, eight different flags have fluttered in her ocean breezes -- reportedly the only location in the country to have been "claimed" by so many nations. The different flags flown above Amelia's shores began with the French from 1562-1565; Spanish 1565-1763; British 1763-1783; Spanish (again) 1783-1821 with 3 interruptions -- Patriots 1812, Green Cross of Florida 1817, Mexican Rebel Flag 1817; United States of America 1821 to present with one interruption -- the Confederate Flag, 1862.  Learn more about Fernandina’s “Old Town” Spanish heritage by visiting www.oldtownfernandina.org

AMELIA ISLAND'S SPANISH MOSS, THE "TREE HAIR"

Spanish Moss -- "Tree Hair" Named after Spanish Bearded Men

In the Amelia Island area, oak trees draped in Spanish moss are a distinguishing characteristic of the local landscape.  To most people not living here, "Florida" connotes coconut palm trees -- not these ancient oaks with "beards."  The name, "Spanish moss," is thought to have originated from its resemblance to the Spaniard explorers' beards.  Legend has it that the Indians called it "tree hair."  It's not a true moss, but rather an epiphyte (or air plant). Visually, it adds interest, and drapes the local landscape with a distinctly southern charm.

For those who find American history intriguing, visit St. Augustine and Fernandina Beach, Florida, "oldies but goodies."  See the oldest cities in the United States where European settlement of the "New World" began.  Amelia Island is the most northern point of what is called "the historic Buccaneer Trail," which continues south through the Talbot Islands, Fort George Island and south on A1A through Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach. The trail which follows the path of French explorer Jean Ribault, as well as Spanish settlers and even pirates, ends in St. Augustine, "where continuous European settlement of the New World began."

Learn lots more about the state of Florida’s Spanish Colonial history at www.vivaFlorida.org, with a 68-page interactive guide, interactive maps, history and multi-media.

MORE ABOUT THE HISTORIC CATHOLIC CHURCH DOCUMENTS

The precious Catholic Church documents mentioned above actually traveled around, and were reportedly in a Cuban crypt for over 100 years.  Read the amazing story of these historic documents that almost met with destruction a few times, and find out about the University of Florida professor, Michael Gannon, Ph.D., who first started looking for early Catholic documents back in the 1960s.  He rescued some of the oldest known European documents recorded in the U.S.  Dr. Gannon is the author of "Cross in the Sand: The Early Catholic Church in Florida 1513-1870.


AMELIA ISLAND LIVING WISHES ALL A HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY!