A century of commemorations around Jean Ribault and Florida

1921: excavations done at Parris Island under the orders of General Eli Cole found the remains of ‘Charlesfort’ and the exact location of Jean Ribault’s first 1562 colony.

May 1, 1924: inauguration of the Jean Ribault Monument at the mouth of Saint John’s River (Mayport) in Jacksonville. Were present Pastor Lauga, representing the French Ambassador, and Mr de Simonnin, General Consul of France in New Orleans who retraced the history of French settlements in Florida.

May 5, 1924: ceremony in Parris Island (South Carolina), organized by the “Huguenot Society of South Carolina”, on the location of Charles Fort. A commemorative stone was sealed by the representative of France and American troops rendered honors. General Cole handed over a section of a post from the fort that was deposited in the Museum of French Protestant History in Paris.

March 27, 1927: thanks to a grant from the US Senate, provided at the request of the “Huguenot Society of South Carolina”, a monument was erected in Parris Island in presence of the secretary of the French Embassy in Washington and the Secretary of the Navy.

July 7, 1935: at the suggestion of the “Friends of the Old Dieppe” and the “French Protestant Friendship Committee”, and with support from Mayor Mr Perrotte, a monument designed by Dieppe architect Georges Feray (1892-1965) and sculpted by L. Ghiot, was erected in the courtyard of the Castle-Museum of Dieppe. Military honors were rendered and the US Consul was leading the US delegation.

1958: the Jean Ribault Monument was transferred from Mayport to Fort Caroline National Park.

2012: 450th anniversary. Events in Florida (April 26-May 6), in South Carolina, in France (university seminar on May 12), exhibition and seminar in La Rochelle in the fall of 2012), , etc.

2012: archeological project by University of North Florida to find the remains of Fort Caroline.

… Spring 2014: Jacksonville (Florida), a university seminar is in the works.