Site of Early Spanish Mission

This high bluff was the site of one of the early Spanish Missions of the Old District of Guale. Here, in the late 16th and the 17th centuries, Franciscan friars labored with the Indians, converting them to Chritianity and instructing them in agriculture and other crafts of civilization. Occupied by a large Indian village before the coming of the Spaniards, this tract was an ideal site for the mission and school activities of the Spanish priests. Archaeological excavations in the area in 1941 and 1953 disclosed evidence of both Indian and Spanish occupation- Indian pottery and bone tools with Spanish olive jars, majolica and iron work, outline of buildings constructed before and after the coming of white men. Built in the area called by the Spaniards, "Talaje," the mission on this site was part of the chain of missions and visitas by which Spain held title for nearly two centuries to what is now the Coast of Georgia.