NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Those who travel to New Smyrna Beach might find an odd sight at Old Fort Park — a series of large stone pits and walls sticking out like a sore thumb.
The structures are made up of coquina, which is a type of limestone formed from fragments of shells and mollusks.
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Visitors at Old Fort Park can find a dilapidated sign at one end of the ruins, though dirt and rust have caused the text to become faded.
The walls themselves stretch up over eye level, though the entire structure measures approximately 3,200 square feet around.
These “Turnbull Ruins” sticks out like a sore thumb from their surroundings, with a marina on one side and the city’s downtown shopping area on the other.
So the question is: why are they there?
According to historians, the area was among the oldest settlements in Florida, having been colonized in 1768 by a Scottish physician named Andrew Turnbull.
However, a litany of problems — such as food shortages, attacks by Native American tribes, inadequate housing, intense labor and mosquitos — caused the settlers to abandon the colony less than 10 years later, instead opting for St. Augustine up north.
And around a year after that, Turnbull himself left for South Carolina, leaving behind the remains of the colony and his partially built mansion.
While the ruins may be one of the scant remains of this colony, it’s still a mystery as to what they were specifically used for.
Based on the shape, size and location, some have guessed it might have been a defensive fortification, but the fact it’s located by the water might indicate it was once a warehouse used to store supplies brought in by boats.
According to Dr. Deborah Bauer, the warehouse theory is the most likely.
“When you’re looking at some schematics... they seem to indicate that it was a warehouse based on the evidence that was found,” she said. “(The blueprints) were found only about 20 years ago. In the historical narrative, that’s a very recent find.”
For more information on Turnbull or the site’s history, click here.
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