EDITOR’S NOTE:This is one of many perspectives on Ponce de Leon and the discovery of Florida and developments like this comes out almost every year at this time. Send us your thoughts to letters@staugustine.com.
Of all the outlandish myths about Florida's outlandish history, one of the most stubborn holds that Ponce de Leon discovered it in 1513 when he was searching for the Fountain of Youth.
But evidence compiled by a Florida Keys map collector, a South Florida archaeologist and a Naples ocean engineer further debunks the tall tale of the Spanish conquistador whose name graces textbooks, schools, boulevards, hotels, parks, statues and the most popular tourist site in St. Augustine, where Juan Ponce de Leon never set foot.
