Forget Plymouth: Was America's First Thanksgiving in Florida?

Florida likes to say the first Thanksgiving in the future United States happened in St. Augustine, way back in 1565. Spanish settlers landed there, held a Mass of Thanksgiving, then sat down to eat with the local Seloy—one of the Timucuan tribes.

This wasn’t your typical turkey-and-pumpkin-pie affair; picture salted pork, garbanzo beans, and sea biscuits. The date was September 8, 1565. That’s 56 years before the Pilgrims showed up in Massachusetts. The site? Not far from today’s Fountain of Youth, at what’s now the Mission Nombre de Dios.

Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés led the Spanish, bringing about 800 settlers with him. The Seloy, living there long before, joined them for the meal. Together, they shared more than just Spanish food—the local people brought smoked fish and corn to the table, mixing local flavors with Old World staples. There was red wine too, straight off the ships.

Historians still debate the “first Thanksgiving” title. Some point out that French Huguenots held a thanksgiving service in Florida in 1564, a year ahead of the Spanish. But St. Augustine’s claim stands out: a Mass and feast uniting Europeans and Native Americans, at a spot that’s been lived in ever since. For many, that’s the real beginning of the Thanksgiving tradition on this continent.