Simba and I visited the Jean Ribault Monument in Jacksonville, Florida — a historic landmark commemorating French explorer Jean Ribault and his arrival near the mouth of the St. Johns River in 1562.
Standing high atop St. Johns Bluff, the monument overlooks the broad river, surrounding marshes, and the North Florida landscape that Ribault and his expedition encountered more than 460 years ago.
Although the impressive stone column standing here today isn’t the original monument erected by Ribault, it commemorates one of the earliest French expeditions to what would eventually become the United States and connects directly with the dramatic story of nearby Fort Caroline.
⛵ Jean Ribault Sails to Florida
In 1562, French naval officer and explorer Jean Ribault led an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to explore the southeastern coast of North America…