Turnbull Ruins in Old Fort Park, New Smyrna Beach, Florida

 

“Strangely, an ancient ruin warms you while you feel cold looking at a modern building! Why? Because the past had a soul, it had an idealism; it had an aesthetics and a grace!”

Mehmet Murat Ildan

While in the quaint seaside town of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, we were driving around, exploring the area when we turned down Julia Street. Right after we turned, we found this lovely park and ruins. The ruins look out of place now in an area that is now full of traffic and modern stores. We love to see Ruins so we had to stop. Parking was easy since there are parking spots on the road surrounding the park. After we parked and walked up the paved path to these impressive ruins that are made from Coquina, which is a sedimentary rock made of shell fragments.

These ruins looked like an old Spanish fort. In fact, there are amazing similarities between how these ruins were built and the Castillo de San Marcos. We walked up the stone steps and when we reached the top of the ruins, it was wide open. You can walk around the outer walls and peer into what once was. This 40 foot by 80 foot ruins is divided by thick walls dividing it into different sections. The walls were in great shape for something that was build in either the 1600’s or 1700’s depending on what you want to believe. You get great views of the park and the New Smyrna Marina across the street on the Intra Coastal Waterway.

After exploring the top of the ruins, we headed down a different set of stairs and walked around the structure. Walking around the base of the ruins, you can see that the east and south side of the rock face is sloping while the north and west side are exposed and you can see a great amount of detail. They keep this park and ruins meticulously clean and well kept. There are historic signs to read while roaming around.

Curiously, no one seems to know why it was originally built. There are many theories. It could have been a colonial church, Dr. Turnbull’s mansion, a building used to build ships or store shipping materials, or maybe a fort. Many articles give credit to Dr. Andrew Turnbull, who was a Scottish physician who was sent from England in 1768. He sailed over the sometimes wild Atlantic Ocean carrying with him 1403 people who were Moroccans, Greeks, and Italians. By the time they arrived on shore, 148 souls had died on the harsh journey. It is questionable that they could end their treacherous journey when they were weak and sickly have had the strength to build something of this size.

Turnbull established the largest North American colony and named it after Smyrna Asia Minor, his wife. They produced Indigo dye, rice, hemp, and other crops for shipping to England. They also established a canal system and built many wharf's. This colony lasted for twenty years - 1763 – 1783. The colonist abandoned the colony in 1777 because of Indian attacks, mosquitoes, heat, inadequate housing, intense labor which was under strict and harsh supervision. At that time, the 600 survivors mostly moved to Saint Augustine.

Some historians believe these ruins and New Smyrna Beach may predate anything even in St. Augustine and that it may have been built in the 1600’s by the Spanish to be used as a fort. It may have gotten buried when it was no longer needed. The exterior walls were built very thick which may have been for a defensive reason. Homes were not built with such thick walls. That is why is is unknown the exact date of when this was built.

What they do know of these ruins is that in 1801, Dr. Ambrose Hull came to live here from Connecticut to start a new settlement and built a house on top of the ruins. His home was later destroyed in 1812 during the Patriot War. Later Thomas Stamps used the property as a Sugar Plantation and rebuilt the home. It was burned to the ground by Seminole Indians in 1835.

A 40 room hotel was built there by John D. Sheldon in 1854 but was destroyed on July 1863 during the Civil War. It was later rebuilt with scrap lumber in 1867 but was eventually torn down in 1896.

The ruins are now a part of a lovely park with gorgeous trees and flowers. On July 10^th, 2008 the ruins were added to the US National Register of Historic Places. It is located at 115 Julia Street, New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It is a fascinating place to visit and it is free so go check it out.

Till next time. Bye for now.