This Historic Florida Attraction Has Been Serving Sulfuric Water to Tourists as “Youth Elixir” Since the 1800s

Fountain of Youth Park, St. Augustine FL

The Fountain of Youth park sits at the exact spot where Spanish explorers first landed in Florida. While the famous spring might not actually grant eternal youth, this St. Augustine landmark does something better.

It preserves the real story of America’s oldest European settlement, just with added peacocks and souvenir cups. And yes, you can absolutely fill those cups today with that legendary water (it might not taste like you expect, though).

Juan Ponce de Leon looked for the “magic” waters here in 1513

Juan Ponce de Leon came looking for special waters that could make people young again. Old records from 1535 say he might have been trying to fix impotence, but he was really after gold. People only started telling stories about him hunting for youth-giving water years after he died.

When you visit the Spring House, you’ll see guest books signed by visitors going all the way back to 1868 – the oldest visitor records in Florida. The water comes from the Floridan aquifer and has more than 30 natural minerals in it.

You can drink from the actual spring water today

The water tastes like sulfur, which surprises many visitors. It flows non-stop from the Floridan aquifer at about 30 gallons every minute. The Spring House was built in the 1950s using coquina, a local stone made of shells.

Staff members hand out small cups of water throughout the day. Despite the strong mineral taste, thousands of people try it each year hoping it might actually make them younger.

The first permanent European settlement in America began on this spot

Pedro Menendez de Aviles set up the first permanent European settlement in North America right here in 1565. That’s 55 years before Plymouth Rock and 42 years before Jamestown.

About 800 colonists and soldiers moved in and worked with the local Timucua tribe. Digging at the site has uncovered exactly where Menendez built the original fort and settlement.

They even had the first Thanksgiving feast in America here on September 8, 1565, when Spanish explorers shared a meal with the Timucua natives.

Colorful peacocks roam all over the park grounds

Almost 30 Indian peafowl walk freely around the 15-acre grounds, including rare white peacocks that look like they’re covered in snow. The Fraser family brought the first birds here in the 1950s to make visits more interesting.

The male peacocks spread their impressive 5-foot tails during mating season from March through August.

These birds are so used to people that they often come up to you for food, which you can buy at the entrance. You’ll hear their loud calls throughout the park, especially early in the morning and late afternoon.

Staff members fire real cannons every hour

People dressed in old-time clothes fire Spanish cannons every hour on the hour from 10am to 5pm daily. These cannons are exact copies of the weapons used in the 1500s to protect the settlement.

Each firing uses real black powder that makes a 120-decibel boom you can hear all over the park.

You can watch from a special viewing area while staff explain how Spanish soldiers loaded and fired these weapons. The boom is so loud it makes nearby windows shake and you can feel it through the ground.

Gardeners found ancient Native American graves by accident

In 1934, someone planting orange trees dug up a Native American skull, leading to a huge discovery. Further digging found about 4,000 burial sites of Timucua Indians who had converted to Christianity, dating from 1587 to the early 1700s.

This is the first place in the United States where Native Americans who became Christians were buried.

They even found a 1,000-year-old dog burial with special objects placed around it. Smithsonian experts did the first dig and found pottery pieces, tools, and religious items showing how native and European traditions mixed together.

A woman nicknamed ‘Diamond Lil’ started the tourist spot in 1901

Dr. Louella Day McConnell, known as ‘Diamond Lil,’ bought this place in 1901 and turned it into a tourist attraction. She was a doctor who left her Chicago practice to join the Klondike Gold Rush before moving to Florida. She charged just 10 cents to see the spring, making it Florida’s first paid tourist attraction.

To make the place seem more exciting, she made up stories about finding an ancient stone cross on the property. By 1904, she had built several buildings and added plants and trees, setting up what would become today’s park.

You can walk along a 600-foot boardwalk with amazing water views

The Founders’ Riverwalk stretches 600 feet along the Matanzas River, giving you wide-open views of St. Augustine Inlet. From this boardwalk, you can see the Bridge of Lions, Castillo de San Marcos, and the Great Cross at Mission Nombre de Dios.

There’s also a 35-foot observation tower nearby where you can get 360-degree views of the entire 15-acre property. The boardwalk was completely rebuilt in 2018 using materials that won’t rot or wear out.

Signs along the way point out important historical places you can see from each spot, connecting you to the area’s 500-year history.

Scientists have found 97,000 historical items buried here

For over 80 years, archaeologists have dug up 97,000 artifacts, including Spanish coins, weapons, and pottery. Dr. Kathleen Deagan from the University of Florida has led yearly digs since the 1970s, finding the exact outline of the original settlement.

Some parts of the park have never been built on or disturbed since 1565, preserving history underground. In 2016, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places because of these important finds.

Recent ground-scanning radar has found more buildings still buried, promising new discoveries about America’s earliest colonial history.

You can visit a realistic recreation of a Timucuan village

The park shows historically accurate rebuildings of Timucuan homes based on archaeological evidence. In 2013, builders finished an anoti (large family house) and nihi paha (council house) using the same methods the Timucua used.

The village includes demonstrations of everyday activities like cooking, making tools, and working with plant fibers just like people did 500 years ago.

Digging has shown that the Timucua lived on this exact spot for about 3,000 years before Europeans arrived. The village recreation uses findings from 50 years of research to make sure everything from materials to building techniques is historically accurate.

A massive two-story globe shows all the explorer routes

This huge glowing globe stands 30 feet tall and was built in 1959 to teach visitors about exploration. It shows the routes of all major Spanish voyages to the New World, including Columbus’s 1492 journey and Ponce de Leon’s 1513 trip.

A 15-minute narrated presentation explains how these early voyages changed world geography and trade forever.

In 2022, the globe got a complete update with LED lighting and new digital mapping technology. Inside there’s seating for 45 people, and special projections show how territorial claims changed throughout the Age of Discovery.

The same family has owned this attraction for almost 100 years

Walter B. Fraser bought the property from Diamond Lil and made it one of Florida’s most successful tourist spots. The Fraser family has kept it privately owned for nearly 100 years, saving it from commercial development.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Fraser planted orange groves to make money.

John Fraser, Walter’s grandson who owns it now, started working at the park in 1973 when minimum wage was just $1.79. In 2021, the family gave 97,000 artifacts to the Florida Museum of Natural History so researchers and students could learn from them.

Visiting the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

You’ll find the park at 11 Magnolia Avenue in St. Augustine. It’s open every day from 9 AM to 6 PM, with last entry at 5 PM.

Tickets cost $22.95 for adults, $20.95 for seniors, and $9.95 for kids ages 6-12, while children under 5 get in free. If you live in St. Johns County, bring your ID for half-price admission.

Parking is free, and you can bring your leashed pets. Cannons fire every hour, and the planetarium show runs every 40 minutes.