The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua people, and in 1564 was the site of the French colony of Fort Caroline, one of the earliest European settlements in what is now the continental United States.
A área ocupada pola actual cidade estivo orixinariamente habitada polo pobo Timucua, ata que no 1564 pasou a formar parte da colonia francesa de Fort Caroline, un dos primeiros asentamentos europeos no que hoxe son os Estados Unidos continentais.