On April 2, 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon first arrived in what is now Florida - the start of a quest for a miraculous spring whose waters could reverse aging. Hulton Archive/Getty Images ...

Maps show Florida was well known by Europeans before Ponce de Leon arrived." Archaeologist Bob Carr's analysis of conch shells he unearthed in Fort Lauderdale supports what the maps illustrate.

Maps show Florida was well known by Europeans before Ponce de Leon arrived." Archaeologist Bob Carr's analysis of conch shells he unearthed in Fort Lauderdale supports what the maps illustrate.

The Tampa Bay History Center has approximately 5,000 maps of Florida, including “several” spanning the 1580s through the mid-1600s that reference a Bay of Juan Ponce, Kite-Powell said.

The Tampa Bay History Center has approximately 5,000 maps of Florida, including “several” spanning the 1580s through the mid-1600s that reference a Bay of Juan Ponce, Kite-Powell said.

Ponce de Leon Springs State Park 2860 Ponce de Leon Springs Road Ponce de Leon, Florida 32455 Phone: 850-836-4281 This beautiful spring is named for Juan Ponce de León, who led the first Spa… ...

The Tampa Bay History Center has approximately 5,000 maps of Florida, including “several” spanning the 1580s through the mid-1600s that reference a Bay of Juan Ponce, Kite-Powell said.

Is this 16th century map evidence that Ponce de Leon was not the first European to discover Florida? The map's owner, Brian Schmitt, an avid map collector and resident of Marathon, says it is.

If not Ponce de Leon, who? The three authors of a new book released Friday, “The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps,” present a compelling theory that Floridians ought to be naming more ...