The Fountain of Youth is a short drive down Williams Street, past The Old Jail and the abandoned Tragedy in U.S. History Museum. You pass under three arches, each less spectacular than the one before. The final arch, only a few steps away from the Fountain, has several of its letters rusting through. Hey, what kind of water is this?
Ponce de Leon landed here in 1513. According to our tour guide, de Leon was only 4' 11", and "all the men in a crew had to be shorter than their captain." This, also according to our guide, made the Timucuan tribe who greeted them appear to be giants. A statue of one, Chief Oriba, stands on the grounds. It's been spray-painted gold. The chief appears to have held an upraised hatchet in his hand, but it's been broken off.
The "Fountain" is actually not a fountain at all, but a natural spring. It's still here, bubbling away within The Spring House, the first building that you see when you enter the Fountain of Youth compound. A diorama of dummies has been built around the Fountain, showing an either too-short Chief Oriba or a too-tall de Leon. The scene is depicted as if the Spring were only a couple of steps from the surf line. It's really a distance of several hundred yards, and that's a long walk on a hot, muggy July afternoon. Cobwebs hang off of de Leon's helmet.
In 1934 a burial pit of Timucuan skeletons was discovered within the Fountain of Youth compound. It was proclaimed as the "first Christian Indian burial" and a building was erected over it, sheltering the a sunken pit, circled on three sides by wall murals depicting Timucuan life. The building is still here but the skeletons are not; they were reburied in 1991. The pit is now filled with a large poster telling you that you can't see the skeletons any more.
In the gift shop, visitors are encouraged to fill bottles (supplied) with three bucks' worth of Fountain of Youth water. Serious signs caution you from putting your mouth on the spigot (from getting too young too fast?) or from letting any of the precious liquid run down the drain.
