Some historians believe the artsy, seaside city of New Smyrna Beach is the original St. Augustine, the Spanish-colonized town in Northeast Florida known as the nation‘s oldest city. While claims that New Smyrna predates St. Augustine
Some historians believe the artsy, seaside city of New Smyrna Beach is the original St. Augustine, the Spanish-colonized town in Northeast Florida known as the nation‘s oldest city. While claims that New Smyrna predates St. Augustine delight or frustrate history buffs, depending on whom you talk to, there's no way to prove it true or false more than 500 years after the Spanish first stepped foot in Florida.
What intrigues historians is the 40-by-80-foot coquina ruins, reminiscent of St. Augustine’s Castillo de San Marcos, that overlook the Intracoastal Waterway near New Smyrna’s downtown. At first glance, the ruins appear to be those of a Spanish fort, but credit for the structure is generally given to a Scottish physician named Andrew Turnbull.
Dr. Turnbull colonized the area for England in 1768. He came to Florida by ship, bringing with him nearly 1,500 Greeks, Corsicans, Italians and Minorcans in hopes of establishing a new colony to grow indigo, sugar cane, hemp and other crops.
Some of the settlers died on the way, while others perished quickly after arriving in the new land. Food shortages, Indian attacks, heat, mosquitoes, inadequate housing and intense labor under harsh supervision resulted in considerable hardship, sickness and death among the settlers. Because of these conditions, the remaining settlers abandoned the colony in 1777 and made their way north to St. Augustine.
About a year later, Dr. Turnbull moved to Charleston, S.C., leaving behind what was left of his colony and partially built mansion. The general consensus is that the Turnbull Ruins are the remnants of this abandoned mansion, but some local historians suggest the coquina foundation may have existed before Dr. Turnbull ever landed on Florida’s shore.
The appearance and location of the structure have led to much speculation about its origin and purpose. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely anyone will ever know for certain whether the structure was a colonial church, Dr. Turnbull’s mansion, a site for constructing ships or the original Castillo de San Marcos.
Any clues to the ruins’ origin have likely been lost over the centuries, but local historian and publisher Gary Luther believes there are many reasons to suspect the structure dates back to Spanish times. In his book, History of New Smyrna, East Florida, Luther points out the striking similarities between the Turnbull Ruins and the Castillo de San Marcos.
The ruins are constructed of coquina, a sedimentary rock composed primarily of shell fragments. This is the same material used to construct the Spanish fort in St. Augustine in the late 1600s. Building something the size of the Turnbull Ruins from coquina would have taken an enormous amount of time and labor, and Dr. Turn