Village of Seloy

Village of Seloy

Landing site of Don Juan Ponce de Leon for the discovery of Florida

San Augustin

Paradise Groves and Rose Gardens

The Fountain of Youth

Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

Governor James Grant

The Villalongas Family

Paul Arnau

Henry H. Williams

Mr. Edward & Dr. Luella (Louella) Day MacConnell (McConnell)

Walter B. Fraser

2,400 B.C.

1513

1765-1766

1868

1874

1900-1901

1927

1934

1975-2011

2013

This location is a natural feature.

This location has been continuously inhabited since 2,400 B.C.

A tourist attraction developed around the spring.

Juan Ponce de Léon is thought to have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second expedition to the "New World" in 1493. He served as governor of several Caribbean islands before searching for the island of Bimini. The myth of Bimini came from a Taino Indian legend for what Spanish sources called a "magic fountain and rejuvenating river," existing somewhere north of Cuba. The myth was of a spring located between the island of Bimini and a river, which would restore youth to whomever bathed in the water. Ponce de Leon landed at the village of Seloy in 1513. After his death, despite a lack of evidence suggesting he voyaged specifically to find the rumored Fountain of Youth, people began associating the Fountain of Youth with him.

In 1565, Pedro Menendez returned to the village of Seloy and founded St. Augustine.

During the British Period, Governor Grant had a farm north of town that included the current Fountain of Youth. This land was sold in c.1765 or 1766 to the Villalongas family. The land was later transferred to Paul Arnau.

At some point, the grounds of the current Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche extended to include the land that is now the Fountain of Youth. The section of Shrine grounds for the Fountain of Youth became the Paradise Groves and Rose Gardens under Mr. H.H. Williams in 1868 as his dwelling-place, but the spring on his property was a tourist destination for those interested in the story of Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth. He built a fence around his property, but had given up his effort to keep visitors away by the early 1870s, and instituted a guest book for the tourists to sign. In 1874, the coquina cross, with which Ponce de Léon marked the site of his landing was uncovered, but as coquina did not occur naturally on the mainland, the cross was re-buried and forgotten until uncovered a second time in 1909, along with a silver casket that contained parchment documents that date to the early 16th century, proving verasity to the claims that Ponce de Leon landed here.

Henry H. Williams sold his property to Dr. Louella Day MacConnell in 1900. This lady had an infamous reputation known for having climbed the Klondike Trail to the Yukon to search for gold in the 1890s. She told locals that while in Alaska, she was dubbed 'Diamond Lil.' She was imprisoned for a period during WWI as a suspected German agent. She and her husband purchased the property for the purpose of unabashed promotion of the Ponce de Leon story of the Fountain of Youth. A famous story connected to her time as propretress of the Fountain of Youth was about the iron level in the spring's water, to which she would quip, she knew it was high because she had thrown her iron stove into it. She died in 1927 in a car crash and her husband sold the property to Walter B. Fraser who continued her tourist attraction enterprise but also tried to gain legitimacy as a historic site.

In 1934 and 1951, large archaeological excavations took place at the site that uncovering the earliest evidence of Christian burials of Timucuans. Archaeological digs have confirmed that the first habitation of the Fountain of Youth area took place in c.2,400 B.C. From 1975-1977, Dr. Kathy Deagan, undertook the first of many archaeological digs trying to locate the exact spot of the original San Augustin, but it was not until the 1985-1987 dig season that she and colleagues were successful with additional c.1565 buildings uncovered from 1991-1994 and 2000-2011.

Renamed The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in 2013, it is now a 15-acre historic attraction in St. Augustine, Florida marking the spot of the first Spanish settlement in the "New World," blending historical interpretation with amusement park. A bronze statue of conquistador Juan Ponce de Léon stands on the property. The Fountain of Youth itself is pulling from the natural spring from which visitors to the park can sample the water while surrounded by old coquina walls and palm gardens.

In 2016, the Fountain of Youth was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

This attraction is open to the public. For access information, please refer to Plan Your Visit.

The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
11 Magnolia Ave.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
https://www.fountainofyouthflorida.com/

The Matanzas River is the eastern boundary of the Fountain of Youth park.

The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (c.1920s): St. Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Van Noy-Interstate, c.1920s.

Photograph 2 (c.1930): Corse, Carita Doggett. The Fountain of Youth: St. Augustine, Florida; 1513. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Company, 1933.

Photograph 3 (c.1942): Historical Old St. Augustine Florida. St. Augustine, FL: Florida Souvenir Company.

Photograph 4 (1971): Lee, Howard. The Story of Old St. Augustine. St. Augustine, FL: Florida Souvenir Company, 1971.

Photograph 5 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Fountain of Youth." July 22, 2025.

Photograph 6 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Fountain of Youth Plaque." July 22, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Corse, Carita Doggett. The Fountain of Youth: St. Augustine, Florida; 1513. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Company, 1933.

The Fountain of Youth: St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Company, c. 1928.

Historic Coast Culture. “Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park.” 2025. https://historiccoastculture.com/organization/fountain-of-youth-archaeological-park/.

Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. “Timeline of Significant Events at the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park Property.” 2018. https://www.fountainofyouthflorida.com/history/.

Flagler College’s Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository are neither the original nor current copyright owner for the photographs. Please contact the publisher or source cited for each photograph to obtain a copy and/or permission to reproduce these items.

This record was last updated on October 6, 2025.