History of New Smyrna Beach
Timucuan Beginnings
Long before Juan Ponce de Leon sailed Florida's east coast in 1513 searching for a "Fountain of Youth," Timucuan Indians lived here. Nomadic hunters and gatherers, they inhabited this area 10,000 year ago. But Timucuans disappeared within 200 years of Ponce de Leon's landing, victims of European infections and slavery.
Only their shell mounds survived. Dr. Amos W. Butler, an Indian archaeologist, identified 22 mounds between Port Orange and Oak Hill in his "Observations on Some Shell Mounds on the Eastern Coast of Florida," published in 1917.
Nearly all 22 were destroyed for use as road material. The Florida State Historical Society saved Turtle Mound in 1924, purchasing Canaveral National Seashore for $8,000. Today it is a designated State Historic Memorial. Visible seven miles out to sea, Turtle Mound has been a navigational aid since the 1500s.
The First Colonists
After the Spanish ceded Florida to the British in 1763, the British Government offered large land grants and bounties to encourage colonization and cultivation of cotton, hemp, indigo and silk. Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a wealthy Scottish physician who resided in London, said yes.
Turnbull was impressed with the climate and the soil, believing it was suitable for raising indigo, rice, hemp, cotton and other crops. He named the colony in honor of his wife's birthplace, Smyrna, Asia Minor. He met and married Gracia Dura Bin (Mrs. Andrew Turnbull) while traveling throughout the Mediterranean area.
In 1768, Turnbull sailed to Greece and recruited 200 mountain tribesmen, traveling next to Corsica, where he took on 110 settlers. On Feb. 1, 1768, he arrived at Mahon, Minorca, where the people had suffered three years of famine. 1,190 heeded the promise of new opportunities in Florida.
The summer journey of more than three months, saw 148 settlers buried at sea before the ships arrived at St. Augustine. The remaining settlers continued on to New Smyrna, some by sea and some by land.
Today in the center of Canova Drive, beachside, the grave of Charles Dummett, still stands. The 16 year old youth died on April 23, 1860, when he tripped while hunting with a friend and his gun discharged. His father, Douglas Dummett, buried Charles where he fell. The marble slab on the sarcophagus reads, "Sacred to the Memory of Charles Dummett, Born August 18, 1844 Died April 23, 1860. Developers left the grave where it was, and thus the pavement on Canova Drive is split, leaving the grave in the middle of the street.
The rich history of Southeast Volusia, especially New Smyrna, makes it Florida's third most important historical area. Many changes have taken place over the years, some good, some bad. Hopefully an attitude of historic preservation will prevail and children will be raised to safeguard these relics of the past, preserving them for future generations. A look to the past often holds lessons for the future.
