Inscription. A Spanish Mission was established near
here within sight of the Santa Fe River about A.D. 1606 by Franciscan
missionaries. The river took its name from the mission, as did the modern town
of Santa Fe. At one time, Santa Fe de Toloca was said to be the principal
Timucuan Indian mission in a chain that stretched across the interior of la
Florida from St. Augustine on the east coast. during the sixteenth, seventeenth,
and eighteenth centuries, la Florida was a battleground where England, France,
and Spain fought for control of the New World. This was part of a greater
struggle between Old and New World cultures that began with the arrival of
Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Archaeological investigations between 1986 and
1989, by the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida,
have revealed traces of a Spanish-style church, a cemetery with Indian burial in
Christian fashion, traces of Indian village life, and fragments of seventeenth
century Spanish and Indian pottery.
The Indians at Santa Fe provisioned the
Castillo de San Marcos and the town of St. Augustine with their crops of corn,
wheat, and probably peaches, which they carried in baskets strapped to their
backs along the Old Spanish Trail. Produce and cattle were also boated down the
Santa Fe and Suwannee Rivers to Cuba.
Several
generations
of Timucuans were born and died at this site. Everyday life centered on tending
their gardens and studying Roman Catholic doctrine. Their routines were broken
by visitations by the Bishop of Cuba, the Indian Rebellion of 1656, epidemics of
disease introduced by Europeans, and the influx of other Indian groups. The
mission church and village were attacked and burned in 1702 by invading English
soldiers and their Indian allies from the Carolinas. The destruction of Santa Fe
de Toloca, and the other missions of la Florida, weakened Spain's control and
led, ultimately to Florida becoming a United States' possession in
1821. Santa Fe de Toloca was located at an existing Indian village. This may
have been the same village visited by Hernando de Soto's army in 1539; a village
called Cholupaha. This area was called "Bland" by its first and only
postmaster, J.L. Matthews, who named it for his son in 1903.
Erected 1989 by Alachua County Historical Commission in
Cooperation with the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number
F-325.)
Location. 29° 55.474′ N,
82° 30.327′ W. Marker is in near Alachua, Florida, in Alachua County. Marker is
on County Road 241 S near NW 294 Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Alachua FL
32615, United States of America. |
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