The area was first settled by Europeans in 1768, when Scottish physician Dr.
Andrew Turnbull, a friend of
James Grant, the governor of
British East Florida, established the colony of New Smyrna. Dr. Turnbull had married
Gracia Dura Bin (some sources give her name as Maria Gracia Rubini), the daughter of a Greek London merchant from the Ottoman city of
Smyrna (modern-day
İzmir in
Turkey) and named the settlement in honor of his wife's birthplace. (A number of the immigrants in his future labor force were Greeks from the
Mani peninsula). No one had previously attempted to settle so many people at one time in a town in North America. Turnbull recruited about 1,300 settlers, intending for them to grow
hemp,
sugarcane, and
indigo, as well as to produce
rum, at his plantation on the northeastern
Atlantic coast of Florida. The majority of the colonists came from
Menorca (historically called "Minorca" in English), one of the Mediterranean
Balearic Islands of Spain, and were of
Catalan culture and language. Although the colony produced relatively large amounts of processed indigo in its first few years of operation, it eventually collapsed after suffering major losses due to insect-borne diseases and Indian raids, and growing tensions caused by mistreatment of the colonists on the part of Turnbull and his overseers. The survivors, about 600 in number, marched nearly 70 miles north on the
King's Road and relocated to
St. Augustine, where their descendants live to this day. In 1783, East and West Florida were returned to the Spanish, and Turnbull abandoned his colony to retire in
Charleston, South Carolina. The
St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine on St. George Street in St. Augustine honors the Greeks among the settlers of New Smyrna; they were the first
Greek Orthodox followers in North America. The historical exhibit adjoining the chapel tells the story of their plight, with accompanying exhibits, and of their contributions to the city. Central Florida remained sparsely populated by white settlers well into the 19th century, and it was frequently raided by
Seminole Indians trying to protect their territory. United States troops fought against them in the
Seminole Wars, but they were never completely dislodged. During the
Civil War, on March 23, 1862, portions of the
3rd Florida Infantry Regiment defeated a small U.S. naval force that was attempting to land near New Smyrna. Later on, in 1863, the "
Stone Wharf" was shelled by
Union gunboats. In 1887, when New Smyrna was incorporated, it had a population of 150. In 1892,
Henry Flagler provided service to the town via his
Florida East Coast Railway. This led to a rapid increase in the area's population. Its economy grew as tourism was added to its citrus and commercial fishing industries. During
Prohibition in the 1920s, the city and its river islands were popular sites for
moonshine stills and hideouts for
rum runners, who came from
the Bahamas through Mosquito Inlet, now
Ponce de León Inlet. "New Smyrna" became "New Smyrna Beach" in 1947, when the city annexed the seaside community of Coronado Beach. Today, it is a resort town of over 20,000 permanent residents. Like St. Augustine, established by the Spanish, New Smyrna has been under the rule of four "flags": the British, Spanish, United States (from 1821, with ratification of the
Adams–Onís Treaty), and the
Confederate Jack. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, it returned with Florida to the United States. ==Geography==