Spanish Mission Historic Marker
New Smyrna Beach (Fla.)
Missions--Florida
Catholic Church--Florida
Franciscans--Florida
Native Americans
Indigenous peoples--United States
Amerindians
The historic marker for a site that was once believed to be the ruins of a Spanish mission dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus. In his book, titled <em>Debunking the So-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida</em> (1941), Captain Charles Henry Coe (1856-1954) demonstrates that the ruins were actually the Cruger and DePeyster Sugar Mill, which was located two miles west of New Smyrna, Florida. For many years, the old sugar mill was mistaken for the ruins of a Spanish mission with origins dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus. The steam sugar and saw mill was destroyed by Native Americans in 1845, just five years after it was erected. Also known as the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, the ruins are located at 600 Old Mission Road in New Smyrna Beach and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Capt. Coe requested that the marker be removed in 1941 and the State of Florida compiled, but little was known about the marker's whereabouts for rest of the century. A few decades after its removal, the marker was recovered and donated to the New Smyrna Museum of History.
Original color digital image: Private Collection of Andrew M. Foster.
Foster, Andrew M.
image/jpg
eng
Still Image
New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Spanish Mission Historic Marker
New Smyrna Beach (Fla.)
Missions--Florida
Catholic Church--Florida
Franciscans--Florida
Native Americans
Indigenous peoples--United States
Amerindians
The historic marker for a site that was once believed to be the ruins of a Spanish mission dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus. In his book, titled <em>Debunking the So-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida</em> (1941), Captain Charles Henry Coe (1856-1954) demonstrates that the ruins were actually the Cruger and DePeyster Sugar Mill, which was located two miles west of New Smyrna, Florida. For many years, the old sugar mill was mistaken for the ruins of a Spanish mission with origins dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus. The steam sugar and saw mill was destroyed by Native Americans in 1845, just five years after it was erected. Also known as the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, the ruins are located at 600 Old Mission Road in New Smyrna Beach and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Capt. Coe requested that the marker be removed in 1941 and the State of Florida compiled, but little was known about the marker's whereabouts for rest of the century. A few decades after its removal, the marker was recovered and donated to the New Smyrna Museum of History. This particular photograph was taken sometime before the marker was removed.
Original black and white photographs: Private Collection of Andrew M. Foster.
Foster, Andrew M.
image/jpg
eng
Still Image
New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Sugar Mill Ruins Brochure
New Smyrna Beach (Fla.)
Sugar--United States
A brochure for the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, located at 600 Old Mission Road in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. For many years, the site, also known as the Cruger and DePeyster Sugar Mill, was mistaken for the ruins of a Spanish mission with origins dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus (ca. 1451-1506). This misconception led Captain Charles Henry Coe (1856-1954) to publish <em>Debunking the So-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida</em> in 1941. The steam sugar and saw mill was destroyed by Native Americans in 1845, just five years after it was erected. The ruins were added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
Original 6-fold brochure: <em>Sugar Mill Ruins</em>. 2012. New Smyrna, FL: <a href="http://nsbfla.com/" target="_blank">New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau</a>: Private Collection of Andrew M. Foster.
<a href="http://nsbfla.com/" target="_blank">New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau</a>
Foster, Andrew M.
application/pdf
eng
Text
New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Debunking the So-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida
New Smyrna Beach (Fla.)
Coe, Charles H.
Sugar--United States
<em>Debunking the So-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida</em> by Captain Charles Henry Coe (1856-1954). The book challenges the misconception that a site located two miles west of New Smyrna was the ruins of a Spanish mission dating back to the time of Christopher Columbus. In the book, Captain Coe demonstrates that the ruins were of a steam sugar and saw mill that was destroyed by Native Americans in 1845, just five years after it was erected. Also known as the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, the ruins are located at 600 Old Mission Road in New Smyrna Beach and were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.<br /><br />Coe was born in Torrington, Connecticut, on February 3, 1856, to William Henry Coe (1824-1879), who founded the town of Glencoe, and Deborah Little Archer Coe (1824-1912). In 1874, his family migrated to Jacksonville, Florida, due to his father's poor health. At age 18, Coe began working for the Jacksonville Tri-Weekly Union. In 1875, Coe moved to New Smyrna Beach and started his first newspaper, <em>The Florida Star</em>. Coe was appointed Deputy Collector of Customs for the port at New Smyrna in 1879, after his father died. In 1880, Coe moved to Glencoe and began producing photographs. Seven years later, the moved to back to Torrington, where the met and married Emma Sophia Johnson (1846-1931). The following year, Coe moved to Asheville, North Carolina, and then later to Highlands, where the established <em>The Highlands Star</em>. In 1889, the moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the Government Printing Office (GPO).<br /><br />Coe published <em>Red Patriots: The Story of the Seminoles</em> (1898), a book about the plight of the Seminole tribe. A copy of <em>Red Patriots</em> was given to every member of Congress, which later passed legislation allowing Seminole land rights in Florida. In 1912, Coe returned to Florida and spent the next 20 years traveling the coast in his cabin cruiser called <em>The Buccaneer</em>. After retiring from the GPO in 1921, Coe spent much of his time exploring Florida's coast as an amateur archaeologist and publishing books, including <em>Juggling a Rope</em> (1927) and <em>The Art of Knife Throwing</em> (1931). He died of pneumonia on March 23, 1954.
Coe, Charles Henry
Original book cover: Coe, Charles Henry. <em><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1814059" target="_blank">Debunking the so-Called Spanish Mission Near New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, Florida</a></em>. Daytona Beach, FL: Fitzgerald Publications, 1941: Private Collection of Andrew M. Foster.
Fitzgerald Publications
Foster, Andrew M.
image/jpg
eng
Text
New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, New Smyrna Beach, Florida