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De Soto National Memorial

courtesy of the National Park Service

Contact Information:
De Soto National Memorial 
P. O. Box 15390
Bradenton, FL 34280
941-792-0458
http://www.nps.gov/deso/

Size: 27 acres

Location: De Soto National Memorial is located at the northern terminus of 75th St. NW in Bradenton, Florida. Visitors can reach the park from I-75 or I-275. 

Description: The landing of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in Florida in 1539 and the first extensive organized exploration of what is now the southern United States by Europeans are commemorated here. With an army of 600 soldiers, Soto had come to the new world with a license from the King of Spain to explore, colonize, and pacify the Indians of the area known as "La Florida".

De Soto National Memorial
courtesy of the National Park Service
Activities: Living History programs are conducted daily from mid-December through mid-April. Rangers and Volunteers dressed in period clothing present talks on a variety of historical topics related to De Soto's Expedition & demonstrate weapons/crafts. There is a ten table picnic area next to the parking lot. The park's 22-minute orientation film "Hernando de Soto in America" is shown daily in the Visitor Center theatre. The Visitor Center includes displays of the park's museum collection of armor, weapons, and related period items. The Nature Trail winds along the shoreline and through several Florida ecosystems, including a mangrove forest like the one de Soto's men would have encountered when they landed. 

Operating Hours: Visitor Center is open daily, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed New Year's, Thanksgiving and Christmas Days. Park grounds are open dawn to dusk. Parking lot gates close at 5:00 p.m.

History: Authorized on March 11, 1948. 

See other National Memorials
See other Florida National Parks

 

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