Florida Senate - 2012                            (NP)    SR 2136
       
       
       
       By Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       6-03899A-12                                           20122136__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the Hernando de Soto Winter
    3         Encampment of 1539 in Tallahassee as the site of
    4         “America’s First Christmas.”
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, the late state archaeologist B. Calvin Jones
    7  located 16th century Spanish artifacts while investigating the
    8  grounds of the Governor John Martin House in Tallahassee, and
    9  additional excavations at the site by archaeologist Charles Ewen
   10  revealed artifacts, such as coins, pieces of chain mail armor, a
   11  tip from a crossbow bolt, and bones from pigs, which are most
   12  likely associated with the Hernando de Soto expedition, and
   13         WHEREAS, the area known as the Hernando de Soto Winter
   14  Encampment of 1539, located off of Lafayette Street, is now
   15  believed to be the site of the earliest extended occupation by
   16  Europeans during the Winter season in La Florida, and
   17         WHEREAS, while Hernando de Soto and his army spent years
   18  exploring the American South and many sites are identified with
   19  them, their presence has been confirmed at only one, the
   20  Hernando de Soto Winter Encampment of 1539, and
   21         WHEREAS, the site is located in what is now a small,
   22  largely undeveloped state park located on the grounds of the
   23  Governor John Martin House and is currently being considered for
   24  nomination as a National Historic Landmark, and
   25         WHEREAS, in 2013, Florida will reach a significant
   26  milestone with the 500th anniversary of European contact on the
   27  continental United States, and
   28         WHEREAS, while Florida’s history dates back more than
   29  12,000 years with the American Indians, Spain’s claim in 1513
   30  began a new era that will be celebrated by Viva Florida 500, a
   31  commemoration of the story of how many nationalities and diverse
   32  cultures thrived together in Florida and how their legacy
   33  continues to shape America, and
   34         WHEREAS, Hernando de Soto traveled with three priests and
   35  the ecclesiastical implements needed for celebrating Catholic
   36  Mass, and the Hernando de Soto Winter Encampment of 1539 was the
   37  site of the first organized Christmas celebration in what would
   38  become the United States, NOW, THEREFORE,
   39  
   40  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   41  
   42         That the Hernando de Soto Winter Encampment of 1539 in
   43  Tallahassee is recognized as the site of “America’s First
   44  Christmas.”