Luna Colony Found In Pensacola – America’s First Multi-Year European Settlement
December 17, 2015
The University of West Florida archaeology program recently identified the archaeological site of the Luna settlement – the first multi-year European settlement in the United States – in a developed neighborhood in Pensacola.
The artifacts discovered are evidence of the Spanish settlement by Tristán de Luna y Arellano from 1559 to 1561, the earliest multi-year European colonial settlement ever archaeologically identified in the United States.
The work began on Oct. 2, 2015, when Pensacola native Tom Garner discovered Spanish colonial and Native American artifacts at a privately owned residential lot within view of the two uncovered shipwrecks in Pensacola Bay, which were also linked to the Luna expedition. In 1983, Garner attended a UWF archaeology field school led by Dr. Judith Bense, founder of the UWF archaeology program and current University president. Garner is well versed in the identification of historical artifacts and aware of areas considered likely candidates for the location of the Luna settlement.
After multiple visits and surface collections, Garner brought the artifacts to the UWF archaeology lab on Oct. 30, 2015. Dr. John Worth (left), associate professor of historical archaeology, is an archaeology and ethnohistory expert and focuses on the Spanish colonial era in the southeastern U.S.
“What we saw in front of us in the lab that day was an amazing assemblage of mid-16th century Spanish colonial period artifacts,” said Worth. “These items were very specific to this time period. The University conducted fieldwork at this site in the mid-1980s, as have others since then, but no one had ever found diagnostics of the sort that Tom found on the surface. People have looked for this site for a long time.”
With the cooperation and support of residents and property owners, UWF began test excavations at the site and recovered additional artifacts in undisturbed context. Worth is the principal site investigator and Dr. Elizabeth Benchley, director of the UWF archaeology program, provides administrative and financial support. Garner also recently joined the team as a research assistant and neighborhood liaison for the project.
UWF archaeologists recovered numerous sherds of broken 16th century Spanish ceramics found undisturbed beneath the ground surface. They are believed to be pieces of assorted cookware and tableware, including liquid storage containers called olive jars. Small personal and household items were also among the findings – a lead fishing line weight, a copper lacing aglet and wrought iron nail and spike fragments. Additionally, the team recovered beads known to have been traded with Native Americans. These items are consistent with materials previously identified in the shipwrecks offshore in Pensacola Bay.
The artifacts were linked to the Spanish expedition led by Tristán de Luna y Arellano, who brought 1,500 soldiers, colonists, slaves and Aztec Indians in 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico, to Pensacola to begin the Spanish colonization of the northern Gulf Coast in 1559. One month after they arrived, the colony was struck by a hurricane, sinking many of their ships and devastating their food supplies. After two years, the remnants of the colony were rescued by Spanish ships and returned to Mexico.
The Luna settlement inhabited Pensacola from 1559 to 1561, which predates the Spanish settlement in St. Augustine, Florida, by six years, and the English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, by 48 years.
“If the Luna expedition hadn’t been devastated by a massive hurricane and had instead achieved its original goal, the reasons and circumstances surrounding the 1565 establishment of St. Augustine might never have happened,” explained Worth. “If Florida had grown as an extension of New Spain through Pensacola on the Gulf Coast to Santa Elena on the Atlantic, the history of the United States itself could have evolved quite differently.”
The winter encampment of Hernando de Soto’s Spanish exploratory expedition to Tallahassee, Florida, from 1539 to 1540, is the only earlier European habitation site positively identified by archaeologists in the southeastern U.S. Two earlier Spanish colonial settlements have yet to be found – those of Juan Ponce de León near Fort Myers, Florida, in 1521 and of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón near Brunswick, Georgia, in 1526. However, neither settlement lasted more than a few weeks.
The discoveries made at the site of the Luna settlement signify that the two shipwrecks previously discovered in Pensacola Bay were wrecked at the anchorage for the entire Luna fleet. The first shipwreck was discovered by the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and the second was found by UWF. The second shipwreck is currently being excavated by UWF with the assistance of a Florida Division of Historical Resources Special Category Grant. This new information about the location of the settlement may help UWF archaeologists narrow the field of search for the remaining shipwrecks.
With the continued cooperation of residents and property owners, UWF archaeologists will continue to examine the neighborhood to determine the extent and organization of the site.
“The shipwrecks have provided a tremendous insight into the nature of the machinery that brought Spain to the New World and how they operated this entire vast empire,” explained Worth. “In terms of understanding who they were after coming to the New World, this kind of archaeology at the terrestrial site will provide us that window.”
The UWF archaeology program includes a select group of 13 full-time professional archaeologists, nine support staff and numerous graduate students. The program has a rich history of significant instruction, research and public outreach in the Pensacola region. Exhibits displaying UWF research and Pensacola area archaeology are open to the public at the UWF Archaeology Institute, T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum and Destination Archaeology at the Florida Public Archaeology Network Coordinating Center.
Experiential learning is a key component of undergraduate and graduate education at UWF. Each summer, the archaeology program offers multiple 10- to 11-week field school sections – like the one Garner attended in 1983 – during which students receive hands-on experience and develop skills necessary for employment. The University plans to include the Luna settlement site in field school sections led by Worth in Summer 2016.
“It’s hard to believe that this opportunity is finally here,” said Worth. “Not only do we know where the site is, but now we get to explore it.”
In order to protect the neighborhood and the integrity of the site, the UWF archaeology program does not plan to disclose the exact location of the Luna settlement.
FHP Looking For Owner Of Lost Items
December 17, 2015
The Florida Highway Patrol found a box on Highway 29 near Becks Lake Road in Cantonment this morning that contained several new items that may have been intended to be Christmas presents.
If you lost the box, call the Florida Highway Patrol at (850) 484-5000 to identify the items and claim.
Same Sex Couples Seek Ruling In Birth Certificate Dispute
December 17, 2015
Nearly a year after same-sex marriages started in Florida, a legal decision could be looming in a dispute about birth certificates for children of same-sex couples.
Two couples and an advocacy group asked a federal judge last week to require the Florida Department of Health to list both spouses on birth certificates of children born into same-sex marriages — as the department typically does when married parents are a man and a woman.
The request for summary judgment, which would short-circuit the need for a trial, contends that the department’s refusal to list both spouses in same-sex marriages on birth certificates violates couples’ constitutional rights.
“Defendants’ (agency officials’) refusal to issue birth certificates listing both parents when a same-sex spouse gives birth to a child in Florida treats married same-sex couples differently than married different-sex couples, denying married same-sex couples one of the most important protections provided to married couples under state law,” said the document filed in federal court in Tallahassee. “Defendants’ conduct exposes plaintiffs and their children to serious harms, while serving no legitimate, much less compelling, state interest.”
But department attorneys argue that the agency does not have the power to make the change on its own. At least one of the issues in the case is a state law that says if a “mother is married at the time of birth, the name of the husband shall be entered on the birth certificate as the father of the child, unless paternity has been determined otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.”
“Defendants (agency officials) contend that the department is an executive agency whose powers are limited to the ability to administer and enforce the laws and rules related to the state of Florida’s public health system including the authority to act as the state’s registrar of vital statistics pursuant to (a section of state law),” according to an October court document that outlines the positions of both sides. “Therefore, the department lacks the authority to revise existing legislation or to apply case law in a manner that invalidates existing legislation without clear judicial authority to do so.”
The lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include the Equality Florida Institute advocacy group, was filed in August, about seven months after same-sex marriages began in Florida. The lawsuit also came less than two months after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established a legal right for same-sex couples to marry.
Two of the plaintiffs in the birth certificate case, Kari Chin and Deborah Chin, were married 2013 in Massachusetts, with Kari Chin giving birth in February 2015 to a son, according to last week’s filing. The Department of Health’s Office of Vital Statistics issued a birth certificate listing Kari Chin as a parent but declined to list both spouses.
The other plaintiffs, Alma Vazquez and Yadira Arenas, were married in 2013 in New York, with Vazquez giving birth in March 2015 to a daughter. The court filing said Vazquez was told she had to be listed as unmarried to get a birth certificate for the child.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle has set a Jan. 6 deadline for the Department of Health to respond to the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Hinkle last year ruled that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, which set the stage for marriages to begin.
by Jim Sanders, The News Service of Florida
Military, Gulf Power Partner On Solar Power Project
December 17, 2015
Beginning a unique new relationship between the Navy, Air Force and Gulf Power, a ground-breaking ceremony was held Wednesday at Naval Air Station Pensacola, marking the start of construction for three large-scale solar electric generating facilities.
Combined, these facilities will have approximately 1.5 million solar panels that could generate or 120 megawatts — enough to power about 18,000 homes on a sunny day. The endeavor will be one of the largest solar energy projects east of the Mississippi River.
Gulf Power and its third party developer Coronal Development Services will construct three facilities — one at NAS Pensacola, one at NAS Whiting Field and one at Eglin Air Force Base. On April 16 the Florida Public Service Commission, approved of all three project plans.
The Navy and the Air Force recently signed land lease agreements with Gulf Power. The energy farms will be constructed at Navy Outlying Landing Field Saufley near NAS Pensacola (50 MW), Navy Outlying Landing Field Holley near NAS Whiting Field (40 MW), and at Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach (30 MW).
“Together, we can provide physical security to the assets, increase the regional grid resiliency and upgrade the energy infrastructure where our Sailors and aviators live and work, as well as stimulate economic activity through development. Energy, the economy, the environment and our national security are bound together; you cannot affect one without affecting the others, and these projects have positive benefits in all four dimensions,” said Dennis V. McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment.
According to Gulf Power President and CEO Stan Connally, these solar projects help Gulf Power to further diversify its energy portfolio and support the mission to provide safe, affordable and reliable energy to its Northwest Florida customers.
“This is an important collaboration between Gulf Power, the Navy and Air Force,” said Connally. “Through careful planning, we¹ve been able to work alongside our military partners to help support solutions for them to meet federal renewable energy and energy conservation mandates, while Gulf Power pursues cost-effective forms of renewable energy at the same time.”
The parties anticipate these solar facilities to be operational by December 2016 and serve all Gulf Power customers. The 50 megawatt facility at Saufley Fied will power about 7,400 Escambia County homes.
Pictured top: ilitary, government and industry officials break gournd for Florida’s largest solar energy project Wednesday aboard NAS Pensacola. U.S. Navy photo by Ens. Anthony Junco. Pictured inset: Solar panels. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Concealed Weapons Licenses Now Available In Escambia County
December 17, 2015
Concealed weapons licenses can now be processed in Escambia County.
Beginning today, concealed weapons license applications will be processed by appointment only at the Escambia County Tax Collector’s Warrington location at 4051 Barrancas Ave, Ste. A. The office is open 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday- Friday.
To make an appointment, click here.
Sheriff’s Office Rejoins Partnerships With US Marshals, FBI
December 17, 2015
After a meeting between the new Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Christoper Carnova, and Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan. the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will be rejoining the Regional Fugitive Task Force with the U.S. Marshal’s Office as well as the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI. The sheriff and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had continued to work together under a memo of agreement on a local “Gun Crime Task Force”.
In the meeting, Carnova assured the sheriff that joint coordination and communication would be paramount in future relationships. The previous U.S. Attorney ignored repeated contacts made by the Sheriff’s Office to address issues that were occurring between agencies, according to an ECSO press release.
Joining the JTTF requires a deputy to be detached to work with the FBI. In the past, security clearances prevented management at the ECSO to be briefed as to what cases the deputy was working. Carnova has offered to have a member of the Sheriff’s command staff receive the same clearances so the ECSO can be assured that the cases being worked are beneficial to the local taxpayers, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Molino Park Elementary Students Build Birdhouses
December 17, 2015
Students at Molino Park Elementary School built birdhouses this week with the help of parents and volunteers from Lowest on Nine Mile Road, a MPES Partner in Education. Organizers said the students and parents enjoyed working together toward a common end goal.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Grad Neiko Robinson Signs With South Alabama Jaguars
December 17, 2015
Northview High School graduate Neiko Robinson signed Wednesday with the South Alabama Jaguars.
All total, six junior-college transfers — all but one on the defensive side of the ball — signed National Letters-of-Intent with the University of South Alabama football program on Wednesday and will enroll in school in January.
Cornerback Robinson played the last two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he helped the Bulldogs finish in the top-10 of the final NJCAA poll each year while winning eight contests.
As a sophomore, Robinson posted a total of 44 tackles and broke up six passes, with the latter figure the second-best on the team, while recording 42 stops and five passes defended his first year with the program. In 2014 he was credited with a career-best eight stops in a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges semifinal contest against No. 2 East Mississippi Community College with a season-high seven tackles in the Bulldogs’ win at Southwest Mississippi Community Colege.
Robinson — who is 6-foot, 175 pounds and from Century — was a first-team all-state selection each of his final two seasons at the high school level. Robinson was a member of the Northview Chief’s first-ever state championship team in 2012.
The South Alabama Jaguars finished 5-7 last season while facing a schedule that included seven opponents that would go on to earn an invitation to a postseason bowl, including a 34-27 overtime victory at eventual Mountain West Conference champion San Diego State.
Pictured top: Neiko Robinson (14) played the last two seasons with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community. Courtesy photo. PiIctured below; Robinson celebrates after the Northview Chiefs won the 2012 Class 1A station championship in Orlando. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
First Baptist Century Youth Share Sounds Of Christmas Joy
December 17, 2015
Youth from the Century First Baptist Church went Christmas caroling Wednesday night for the sixth consecutive year. The group visited nine homes in Century and residents the Century Health and Rehabilitation Center, spreading the joyous news of the season. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deadline Is Friday For FY2016 USDA NRCS Conservation Assistance Programs
December 17, 2015
Friday is the deadline to signup for fiscal year 2016 USDA NRCS conservation assistance programs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers free help to Florida agricultural producers to prevent soil erosion, improve water quality, restore wetlands and provide habitat for wildlife. Working with our staff, you can develop a conservation plan, receive technical assistance and explore what conservation practices may be eligible for cost share funding. All NRCS programs are strictly voluntary.
The following programs are available:
Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA) is available to any group or individual interested in conserving their natural resources and sustaining agricultural production. Included in this program is a mutually agreed to conservation plan for your land.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices to improve soil, water, plant, animal, air and related resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland.
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands. This includes two components:
* Agricultural Land Easements help farmers and ranchers keep their land in agriculture. Eligible partners are Indian tribes, state and local governments and non-governmental organizations that have farmland or grassland protection programs.
* Wetland Reserve Easements offer technical and financial assistance directly to private landowners and Indian tribes to restore, protect and enhance wetlands through the purchase of a wetland easement.
Although applications are accepted on a continuous basis for all programs, Florida NRCS has established an application cut-off date of December 18, 2015, for the 2016 program year. Other programs may have different cut-off dates.
For more information, call (850) 587-5404 or stop by the USDA/NRCS office in Molino at 151 Highway 197.