The McLarty Treasure Museum

Today we rode our bikes to see the McLarty Treasure Museum which occupies part of the former site of the Survivors' and Salvagers' Camp for the 1715 Treasure Fleet.

The 1715 Treasure Fleet was a Spanish treasure fleet returning from the New World to Spain. On July 31, 1715, eleven of the twelve ships of this fleet were lost in a hurricane near present-day Vero Beach, Florida. Because the fleet was carrying silver, it is also known as the 1715 Plate Fleet (plata being the Spanish word for silver).

Over the next four years official Spanish salvors, Indians divers, English pirates, and privateers and river pirates of various nationalities flocked to the area to retrieve-or steal from each other-as much treasure as they could.

Some artifacts, coins, and even jewels still wash up on Florida beaches from time to time.

The museum was small, but really interesting. We had a chance to walk out to an overlook facing the ocean where the survivors came ashore. As you can see, we had stiff winds today again so it wasn't the best day to spend on the beach.