View source for DeSoto Site Historic State Park

{{short description|Park in Tallahassee, Florida}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Desoto Site Historic State Park
| iucn_category = 
| photo = Tallahassee FL De Soto site01.jpg
| photo_alt = A photo of a historical marker at the park
| photo_caption = Historical marker
| photo_width = 250px
| map = Florida#USA
| map_alt = A map of Florida showing the location of Desoto Site Historic State Park
| map_caption = 
| location = [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]], [[Florida]], [[United States|US]]
| nearest_city = [[Tallahassee, FL]]
| coordinates = {{coord|30.435323|N|84.268811|W|region:US-FL|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref = <ref name=plan/>
| area_acre = 5
| area_ref = <ref name=plan/>
| established = 
| visitation_num = 
| visitation_year = 
| governing_body = 
| url = 
}}

'''DeSoto Site Historic State Park''' is a [[Florida state park]] located in [[Tallahassee]], [[Florida]]. It consists of {{convert|5|acre|m2}} of land near [[Apalachee Parkway]], including the [[Gov. John W. Martin House|residence of]] former Governor [[John W. Martin]]. The site is intended to initiate research and education on nearly four centuries of [[recorded history]] beginning with [[Hernando de Soto (explorer)|Hernando de Soto]]'s use of the site as a winter encampment in 1539. There is an exhibit of items found at the site in the Governor Martin House.<ref name=plan>{{cite web |title=Desoto Site Historic State Park Unit Management Plan |publisher=Florida Department of Environmental Protection |url=http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/planning/parkplans/DeSotoSiteHistoricStatePark.pdf |access-date=June 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625165400/http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/planning/parkplans/DeSotoSiteHistoricStatePark.pdf |archive-date=June 25, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Desoto Winter Encampment - Tallahassee, Florida |publisher=ExploreSouthernHistory.com |url=http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fldesoto1.html |access-date=June 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625063955/http://exploresouthernhistory.com/fldesoto1.html |archive-date=June 25, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The DeSoto Site: A Unique Piece of Tallahassee History! |publisher=Florida Public Archaeology Network |url=http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org/blog/ncrc/2011/04/08/the-desoto-site-a-unique-piece-of-tallahassee-history/ |access-date=June 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516101532/http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org/blog/ncrc/2011/04/08/the-desoto-site-a-unique-piece-of-tallahassee-history/ |archive-date=May 16, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A 1998 historical marker at the site reads:

{{blockquote|In 1539, a Spanish expeditionary force led by Hernando de Soto landed in the Tampa Bay area. Nearly 600 heavily armed adventurers traveled more than 4000 miles from Florida to Mexico intending to explore and control the Southeast of North America. The route of de Soto has always been uncertain, including the location of the village of Anhaica, the first winter encampment. The place was thought to be in the vicinity of present day Tallahassee, but no physical evidence had ever been found. Calvin Jones’ chance discovery of 16th century Spanish artifacts in 1987 settled the argument. Jones, a state archaeologist, led a team of amateurs and professionals in an excavation which recovered more than 40,000 artifacts. The evidence includes links of chain mail armor, copper coins, the iron tip of a crossbow bolt, Spanish [[olive jar]] sherds, and glass trade beads. The team also found the jaw bone of a pig. Pigs were not native to the New World and historical documents confirm that the expedition brought swine. These finds provided the physical evidence of the 1539-40 winter encampment, the first confirmed de Soto site in North America. From this location, the de Soto expedition traveled northward and westward making the first European contact with many native societies. Within two centuries, most of the southeastern native cultures were greatly diminished.}}

This is the site of the First Christmas celebrated in what would be the United States at the Hernando de Soto Winter encampment in 1539.<ref>Florida House Resolution. H.R.9129.[https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=51024 America's First Christmas: Commemorates America's First Christmas at Hernando de Soto Winter Encampment Site]</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Florida}}
*[[Anhaica]]
*[[Florida State Parks]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Protected areas of Florida}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:State parks of Florida]]
[[Category:Parks in Tallahassee, Florida]]
[[Category:History of Tallahassee, Florida]]
[[Category:Christmas in the United States]]
[[Category:Christmas in Florida]]


{{Florida-state-park-stub}}
{{LeonCountyFL-geo-stub}}
{{TallahasseeFL-stub}}