Welcome to the Farewell to Finder’s Fest geo-art, brought to you by the Forest Minions! This series celebrates weird and unusual things throughout the Sunshine State. Please do not go to the posted locations. Rather, solve the challenging quiz found at the bottom of each page, for the final location. For the letterbox caches, please leave the stamp in the cache. They are not trade items. For the discerning traveler, we’ve included the GPS coordinates for these bizarre locations, when we were able to establish them.
New Smyrna’s Mysterious Ruins – Location 29.0272, -80.9223
One of the weirdest mysteries on Florida’s east coast is in New Smyrna’s Old Fort Park across from the City Hall. Sitting on the east side of the park facing the river, is what appears at first glance to be a Spanish fort measuring 40 by 80 feet, but was it a fort or something else? No one seems to really know, but since it had to be called something, why not a “fort”?
The ruins are constructed of coquina blocks like the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, which would have required a considerable labor force and time. The project would have involved quarrying the coquina, cutting and shaping it, then transporting it, and then building the structure. This does not take into account that the site would have needed excavation, and workers to turn oyster shells into “tabby,” the cement used in early construction. So, who had such a labor force or time to build this stone fort, foundation, or whatever it is? Unlike St. Augustine’s fort, there are no records as to the origin of New Smyrna’s so-called fort.
Here is the super duper, way challenging, really hard trivia question, which, if solved properly, will lead you to the final coordinates:
Question: This object was declared the official bird of Redondo Beach, California.
A: A rock = N29° 28.424' W81° 46.752'
B: A log = N29° 28.414' W81° 46.752'
C: The Goodyear Blimp = N29° 28.404' W81° 46.752'