Shipwreck Talk: Huguenot Castaways on the Cape
Schedule
Fri Jan 30 2026 at 06:30 pm to 08:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
750 Field Manor Dr, Merritt Island, FL, United States, Florida 32953 | Merritt Island, FL
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On Friday, January 30th, 6:30-8:00P, Field Manor will be holding a talk about natives, castaways, and treasure. Admission is $10 and it will be held under our pavilion. Our host and local author, Terry Armstrong, will present evidence and theory on this subject, as well as have a limited amount of his acclaimed books for sale.All money raised benefits Field Manor.
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During the 1960's local treasure hunters recovered a quantity of Spanish 4 Reales surrounding a palm tree in an area adjacent to an historic native village in present-day Apollo Beach within the Canaveral National Seashore. Subsequently, it seems that same village hosted some of the Huguenot castaways lost in 1565 following a harrowing episode now burned into history books as the "Matanzas Massacre". This epic tale is diluted with the aforementioned discovery at the "Silver Palm" site. How those particular coins came to be at this location is a mystery... were they carried by the Huguenots, or did they originate with the wrecks of Cosme Farfan? This is a story reaching back into Florida's timeline more than four hundred and fifty years, filled with the celebrated ghosts of Jean Ribault, Pedro de Menendez, Escalante Fontaneda, Nicolas Le Challeaux, and the native people of Florida.
Your presenter is T. L. (Terry) Armstrong, a Brevard resident since 1966, who participated in Florida's commercial treasure salvage operations for many years. He became acquainted with this mystery in 1967 while working within Florida treasure lease E-5A on the north side of Cape Canaveral. Over five decades he's gathered information regarding this story that's been put to the press using his own publishing house, Signum Ops, including:
- West of the Bull
- French Castaways at Old Cape Canaveral
- A Hundred Giants: New Discoveries
- The Andrews Gazetteer
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Where is it happening?
750 Field Manor Dr, Merritt Island, FL, United States, Florida 32953Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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