Did you know?
Famous explorer Juan Ponce de Leon is believed to have discovered Sanibel Island – which he named “Santa Isybella” after Queen Isabella – in 1513 while searching for his “Fountain of Youth.”
He and his Spanish seamen battled the area’s native Calusa tribe for years trying to establish a Spanish colony. Ponce de Leon eventually suffered a fatal arrow attack at their hands in 1521, at which time he retreated to Cuba and died.
