New Smyrna Beach, Florida: Turnbull Ruins of Unknown Purpose

An archaeological site that's a vast foundation of a mansion, or a church, or a fort, or... well, no one really knows.

Address:: 200 N Riverside Dr., New Smyrna Beach, FL
Directions:: Along Riverside Drive across Sams Avenue, accessible from U.S.-1 at Canal Street. The back roads behind Canal Street, near the skateboard park is where the ruins are easily located. At the Old Fort Park.
Admission:: Free.

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Turnbull Ruins

I grew up in South Florida, but as a child we used to drive up to New Smyrna Beach to visit family. One of my grandmothers told me that indigenous inhabitants constructed it; it was a "burial mound" at one time. I visited the Chichen Itza pyramid/temple complex in the Yucatan, less than 1,000 miles southwest of this structure, which has characteristics of some of the smaller Mayan buildings that I saw. Personal opinion: possible Mayan origin?

[Brett M. Hutcheson, 06/24/2022]

Foundation of unknown purpose.

Turnbull Ruins of Unknown Purpose

The Turnbull Ruins are made out of coquina rocks, and overlook the water in New Smyrna Beach. It's believed that during the colonization (1766-1777), Andrew Turnbull attempted to build his personal mansion on the coquina foundation. However the work was never completed. The true origination of the ruins is unknown, some say that they may be the remnants of a pre-colonial fort or a colonial church.

[Renee, 08/03/2009]

Or maybe simply the remains of America's first Housing Bubble?