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Jacksonville is fast making a mark on the tourism market. People come to see the art museums, like Cummer and Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). They visit TIAA Bank Field to see the Jaguars play football. They ride the River Taxi from The Landing for a Sunset Cruise or over to see The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) but they often miss the original Jacksonville.
Located in the northeastern corner of Duval County, Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, a 46,000 acre area, protects some of the most environmentally sensitive marsh and waterfront land in the state. This is where the Saint Johns River and Nassau River, Jacksonville/Duval County's northern boundary, merge into the Atlantic Ocean. It's a treasury preserving a tiny bit of North Florida the way it was when the first settlers stepped ashore. Another treasure is there; the preserve encloses some of Florida's earliest history.
Meanwhile, two separate groups of shipwrecked Frenchmen were walking through woods and swampland back towards Fort Caroline. When Menendez learned of this, he marched south with about 50 to 70 men. They found the first group of 126 drenched despairing Frenchmen near the south end of Anastasia Island. There, at a small inlet, he encountered the first contingent. With little choice, they surrendered to him. Menendez ordered all killed with the exception of 15 Catholics. On October 12th, Ribault and remaining 350 Frenchmen reached the inlet. About half of the Frenchmen surrendered and the rest decided to take their chances in the woods rather than trust Menendez. All but 16 prisoners were rounded up and slaughtered in the already bloody marsh. Today, that inlet is called Matanzas, Spanish for slaughter. Because of an ill wind, France forever lost her chance in Florida. There would not be another town here until 1822, the year after Spain ceded Florida to the United States. It was originally known as known as Cowford because this was where the settler drove their cattle across the St. Johns River. Then in 1822, it was mapped as a town and named Jacksonville after Andrew Jackson, Florida Territory's provisional governor.
Just a short distance away, Ribault Monument stands overlooking the St. Johns River. It replicates the stone column Ribault erected, bearing the coats of arms of the French king and claiming Florida for France, in 1562. The native Timucuans often decorated the marker and revered it.
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