Most visitors to St. Augustine eventually encounter Juan Ponce de León. His name is on a hotel, a boulevard, a landmark archaeological park, and roughly half the tourist brochures in the city. He is the man who supposedly discovered Florida while searching for the Fountain of Youth, the first European to set foot on the soil that would become America's oldest city. Most of that story is wrong. Here is what actually happened. Who Was He Born in the village of Santervás de Campos in the province of Valladolid, Spain in 1474, Juan Ponce de León became a page to the prince of Castile who later became King Ferdinand of Castile. He was a soldier, a sailor, and an explorer. He sailed with Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, which put him in the right place at the right time to become one of the most consequential figures in early American history. In 1508, the Spanish Crown selected Ponce de León to exploit the goldfields he had discovered in Puerto Rico. He established Spanish settlements near the larger mines and was appointed its first governor. Political rivalry with Diego Colón, son of Christopher Columbus, eventually cost him the governorship, but by then he had his sights set on something new. The Voyage To La Florida On March 3, 1513, Ponce de León departed from Puerto Rico with three ships: the Santiago, San Cristobal, and Santa Maria de la Consolacion. After a month at sea, he sighted land on April 2, 1513, near present-day St. Augustine. Believing he had found another large island, he named it "La Florida," inspired by both the Easter season (Pascua Florida) and the lush vegetation that greeted his eyes. Ponce de León and his men came ashore and claimed La Florida for Spain, becoming the first documented visitors of European culture to Florida's coast. He then sailed south, charting the Atlantic coastline down to the Florida Keys, navigating what we now call the Gulf Stream, and eventually rounding the peninsula before heading back to Puerto Rico. The Fountain Of Youth - A Myth Here is the part the tourist brochures usually skip. Though in popular culture he was supposedly searching for the Fountain of Youth, there is no contemporary evidence to support the story, which most modern historians consider a myth. His true motivation was more practical: wealth, land, and political power. The Spanish Crown had promised him governorship over any new lands he discovered. Rumors of gold and untapped resources fueled his ambition far more than any mystical spring. The Fountain of Youth legend appears to have emerged posthumously, first mentioned in writings that appeared decades after his death. The Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park in St. Augustine is a wonderful place to visit. Just do not expect the water to do anything unusual. The Return And The End Ponce de León returned to Spain in 1514 and was knighted by King Ferdinand, who also reinstated him as the governor of Puerto Rico and authorized him to se