Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: On his first voyage to Florida in 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon spent several weeks at or near the mouth of Charlotte Harbor. When attacked by Indians he returned to Puerto Rico. In 1521, Ponce de Leon, with two shiploads of colonists, returned to Charlotte Harbor. The colony lasted five months before it collapsed due to illness and Indian hostility. Ponce de Leon was wounded and died in Cuba shortly after the colonists returned.