Friday, August 28, 2009

History Lessons.....

Wooos to all my pals who liked my Magickal Island!
I wanted to let you all know a little about where we stayed, and where my Island was....
My Island was in Ponce de leon Inlet.
Some facts about New Symrna Beach, (...boring Mom stuff.....)
New Smyrna Beach, Florida holds the distinction of being the second oldest city in North America, though some historians believe it to be older than St. Augustine
New Smyrna has stood under four flags. First the British, then the Spanish, and finally the American flag in 1845, followed by the Confederate Jack, and replaced again by the stars and stripes.

The lighthouse at Ponce de Leon Inlet, at 175 feet in height, is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the one of the tallest in the United States (the Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina is taller at 207 feet)

This picture is me in front of this old ruin of a house like thingy... strange though I do not see a house.....it was across the street from the New Symrna Beach Municipal Marina.(boring stuff from Mom)
In 1769 Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scot, had recruited 200 Greeks, 110 Italians and 1190 Minorcans to homestead his royal land grant of 101,000 acres. He named the colony "New Smyrna." Shortages, mosquitoes and disease led to the failure of that colony ten years later. Turnbull had even started his "palace" on yet another shell mound but only got as far as the "coquina" block foundation. "Coquina", composed of millions of fused together tiny shells was the Florida coastal building material of choice in those days. You can still see the foundation at the corner of Julia and North Riverside Drive today.

17 comments:

Yas said...

Woo..! Very educational and interesting indeed!! thanks for sharing, Kira!!

Cheers,
Maxx

Ziggy Stardust said...

That was a cool and very educational post. Well I was kind of bored, but Mom really liked it.

licks and sniffs, Sasha

Martha said...

Hi Kira
Thank you for telling us more about Magical Island - we are much better informed thanks to you.
Fascinating place and what a lighthouse! We are glad you have got the stars and stripes flying there after the British and the Spanish tried to steal it away!!!
love
Martha & Bailey xxx

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Tank woo fur sharing that!

I was just gonna MapKhwest 'Kira's Island' but now I don't have to!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra The Pawsylvania Siberian

Dexter said...

Thank you for that historical tour. I had no idea they made houses out of shells. Sounds like hard work.

Slobbers,
Mango

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Thank you for your history lesson. Mom and Dad have been to New Smyrna several times (we think there is a huge outlet mall close by) and now they know a bit about the history of it. Maybe they will bring us next time.

XOXO
Lilly, Piper, Carrleigh and Java

D.K. Wall said...

If you have built a house of seashells, do you always hear the ocean roar?

Astrid Keel said...

woo! Kira, I gotsa say, my momster felt like she was back in school... and that's a good thing!

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

Kira you have a WAY smart Mama...My mama says thanks for the cool information!!!

Smileys!
Dory

The Army of Four said...

That was fascinating! But ... why do they call it "New Symrna" if it's that old?
:)
Love,
Ammy
PS: Mom has been to the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras and said it's beautiful there!

Mochi and Bali said...

Thank you for that very interesting history lesson! :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Mochi

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

It is truly amazing how much we can learn from our blog visits - thank you for the great lesson.

Woos, the OP Pack

The Oceanside Animals said...

Cool facts! But, um, it might be time to change the name to "Old" Smyrna Beach, eh?

Two French Bulldogs said...

What nice pictures Kira. Thank you for teaching us something today
Benny & Lily

ScrapsofMe said...

WOWSER, I'm impressed...and I live in Flori-duh...and I never heard of that. Looks like a fine place to sniff out some critters.
Bonnie

Woodrow, Luna, MJ Campanella said...

what a great history lesson - thanx

Thanx again for all the support for Woodrow - hopefully the power of the paw will prevail - We are going to try and catch up on our bloggies today - but please be patient

Deb
Woodrow - Sweetie - MJ

Steve, Kat, & Wilbur said...

What a great lesson from Kira and mom! Our mom likes hearing history facts, so she says its not boring!

Kat