Turtle Mound at Canaveral National Seashore

The earliest evidence of man at Cape Canaveral is found in the numerous mounds and middens within its boundaries.

This turtle-shaped mound contains oysters and refuse from the prehistoric Timucuan people, and extends for over 600 feet along the Indian River shoreline.  It contains over 35,000 cubic yards of shells. Archaeologists believe the Timucua may have used this site as a high-ground refuge during hurricanes. It was constructed between 800 and 1400 CE., however recent radiocarbon testing dates it around 1000 BCE. (Archaeologists have recently found 1,200-year-old pottery on the site.) In 1605, the Spanish explorer and cartographer, Alvaro Mexia, visited the site and reported natives launching their dugout canoes at the mound's base. Over many years of this practice, the mound began to take the form of a turtle, giving the feature its name. Early Spanish colonists and subsequent mariners utilized the large mound as a landmark. Turtle Mound was estimated to be 75 feet high before it was reduced by shell rock mining in the 19th and 20th centuries.

There has never been a complete archeological excavation of Turtle Mound. By protecting it for the future, we will be able to gain more insight into the way of life of the Timucuan people. Archeological sites such as Turtle Mound are the last remaining vestige of the Timucuan people. Other mounds have been leveled to provide roadfill material. Some mounds have been so disturbed that their archeological record was destroyed and their artifacts lost forever.

Turtle Mound is accessible via a hiking trail Read This to learn about the hike and trail.

Canaveral National Seashore contains nearly 58,000 acres of barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flatwoods, and offshore waters. With 24 miles of pristine beach, it is prime habitat for many threatened and endangered species providing nesting beaches for several thousand protected marine turtles. Two thirds of the park is in Mosquito Lagoon. The lagoon is designated an estuary of national significance and an outstanding Florida water-way. It is one of the most diverse and productive estuaries in North America. The national seashore also contains cultural resources that reflect human history in the Florida peninsula from 2000 BC to early 20th century Florida settlement.

Canaveral means "place of cane," and is one of the oldest recorded geographical names in North America. Merritt Island is thought to have been named by Pedro Marratt, a surveyor who charted the island in the early 1800's. But humans left their imprint here long before European explorers ventured ashore. First Natives, attracted by the fertile estuaries and temperate climate, harvested oysters/clams and discarded the shells in heaps that archeologists study today in the national seashore such as the mounds at Seminole Rest, Turtle Mound, and Castle Windy. In April 1513, Ponce de Leon claimed the land for Spain. Spain retained control until 1821, except for a 20 years period (1763 - 1783) when the British gained control of Florida's east coast. But the extensive wetlands, clashes with Seminole Indians, and clouds of salt marsh mosquitos delayed development until the 1830's, when Douglas Dummett (or Dummitt in other sources) planted an orange grove in th Merritt Island area that began the world-renowned Indian River citrus industry.

During the next century villages near citrus groves or water passageways were established, but were abandoned because of storms, isolation, or occasional killing frosts. One of these towns was Eldora, a late-19th century community built near Mosquito Lagoon in what would later become part of the national seashore. Two houses associated with the earyl history of this community have been rehabilitated.

Seminole Rest, site of a prehistoric first native mound, dates from about 4,000 to 500 years ago. Archeologists believe that the mound was a place for the Timucuan Indians to gather and process clams. The two late-19th century rehabilitated residences are at the top of the 18 foot high mound. During the early 1900s, the owners refused to sell the content of the mound for road construction material, thus preserving the evidence of the Timucuan people.