The Secret History of Fort Caroline

The site of what is now Fort Caroline National Memorial in Jacksonville, FL was chosen in the 1930s by Chamber of Commerce officials, because it was a good place for tourists to take photos of the St. Johns River. However, until after the American Revolution, the ruins of Fort Caroline were considered by all to be at the mouth of the Altamaha River in Georgia and at the headwaters of the Altamaha was the former Kingdom of Apalache from which the Appalachian Mountains got their name. Yet in the 1800s this history was erased and mythological history was built like a stack of cards upon the myths. Today, much of the intellectual energy of Southeastern academicians is spent on efforts to protect this stack of cards from collapsing. You will be surprised how different the early history of the Southeastern United States was compared to what our students are taught today.