Santaluces High School Named For Indian Group

Q: Who is Santaluces High School, west of Lantana, named for?
A: “Santaluces” is a name given to a local Indian group by Europeans that probably was a corruption of Santa Lucia, the same person for whom St. Lucie County is named.
Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles established the Santa Lucia settlement, at a spot identified as either St. Lucie Inlet or Jupiter Inlet, on Dec. 13, 1565, the feast day of Santa Lucia.
According to legend, she was born in the fourth century in Sicily of noble parents, made a vow of virginity, and was executed as a Christian after she was turned in by a spurned suitor.
Fort Santa Lucia was abandoned by March 1566.
Read More: Pictorial History of Saint Lucie County, 1565-1910, by Kyle Van Landingham
St. Lucie County Historical Museum: (561) 462-1795

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