Floridablanca: The Tragic History Buried Under New Smyrna Beach
- Sam Truett
- Dec 27, 2025
- 3 min read
When you drive onto the hard-packed sand of New Smyrna Beach today, you are surrounded by the trappings of a modern paradise. Surfers bob in the Atlantic, families set up tents, and the smell of sunscreen fills the air.
But just a few miles inland, buried beneath the scrub and the condos, lies the memory of the largest—and arguably most disastrous—colonization attempt in the history of North America.
Before this was a surf town, it was New Smyrna, a British colony that started with high hopes and ended in starvation, mutiny, and a desperate 70-mile march for freedom.
The Doctor’s Grand Plan
In the mid-1700s, Florida had just passed from Spanish to British hands. The British Crown was eager to turn this wild territory into a profitable enterprise.
Enter Dr. Andrew Turnbull.
Turnbull was a wealthy Scottish physician with a vision that, on paper, made perfect sense. He knew that English farmers often died in Florida’s heat. His solution? Recruit people who were already used to the climate.
He sailed to the Mediterranean and recruited over 1,400 settlers—mostly Minorcans, but also Greeks and Italians. He promised them land, freedom, and a new start in a place he named New Smyrna, in honor of his wife’s birthplace in Turkey.
It was an operation massive in scale. For context, the Jamestown colony started with just over 100 people. Turnbull brought an army of settlers.
The Florida Reality
In 1768, the ships arrived at the mosquito-choked inlet of Ponce de Leon.
The reality hit them immediately. There was no housing. The land wasn't cleared. The provisions were short. The settlers were tasked with clearing dense palmetto scrub and pine forests to plant indigo, a cash crop the British desperate wanted.
Conditions were brutal. The settlers died by the hundreds from scurvy, gangrene, and malaria. By some accounts, nearly half the population died within the first two years.
To make matters worse, Turnbull and his overseers ran the settlement like a prison camp. As food ran out and the death toll rose, the "indentured servitude" began to look a lot more like slavery. Harsh punishments were dealt out for minor infractions, and the promised land grants seemed like a fantasy.
The Great March to Freedom
For nine years, the settlers endured. But in 1777, the breaking point arrived.
With Dr. Turnbull away in London trying to secure more funding (and defend himself against growing legal trouble), the survivors took their chance.
Led by a carpenter named Francisco Pellicer, a group of settlers secretly walked out of the colony. They didn't have cars or a highway. They walked 70 miles north along the King’s Road, through the swamps and forests, all the way to St. Augustine.
They arrived at the city gates and petitioned Governor Patrick Tonyn for asylum. The Governor, who was no fan of Turnbull, granted it. He gave them a designated quarter in the northwest section of St. Augustine to settle.
New Smyrna collapsed. The fields were reclaimed by the jungle. The colony was a failure.
The Legacy You Can Taste
While the colony of New Smyrna died, the people survived.
The "Minorcans" (as the group came to be collectively known) became the backbone of St. Augustine society. If you visit St. Augustine today, you are seeing their legacy everywhere.
The Names: Families with names like Pellicer, Usina, and Pacetti still live in St. Johns County today.
The Food: The settlers brought a specific pepper seed from the Mediterranean. Today, the Datil Pepper is the signature flavor of St. Augustine. Every time you order "Minorcan Clam Chowder" (the red kind, not the white kind), you are eating a dish born from this survival story.
How to Visit the Ruins
You can still see the physical scars of the Turnbull colony in New Smyrna Beach today, though they are fading.
The best place to visit is Old Fort Park in downtown New Smyrna.
Here, you will find a massive foundation made of coquina rock. Archaeologists and historians have debated its origin for years. Some believe it is the foundation of Dr.
Turnbull’s mansion. Others believe it predates the colony. Regardless of the academic debate, it stands as the symbolic heart of the settlement—a heavy, stone reminder of the labor that took place here.
Know Before You Go:
Location: 115 Julia St, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168
Cost: Free
Best Time: Go in the early morning or late afternoon for the best lighting on the ruins (great for photography).
Recommended Reading
If you want to dive deeper into this darker side of Florida history, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Florida's Minorcans. It details the genealogy and the incredible resilience of these families.
New Smyrna Beach is a beautiful place to relax, but next time you are there, take a moment to look past the surf shops. The history under your feet is fascinating.
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