Did de Soto Visit Anderson Area in the 1500s?

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

For decades, many historians believed Hernando de Soto’s 1539-1543 expedition to the New World passed through the land where Anderson County resides.

But more recent scholarship suggests the map that charted the explorer’s route through the area was in error, and that it is more likely de Soto never visited the area.

Anderson County Museum Curator Dustin Norris recently offered a presentation on the topic, outlining why it’s unlikely the Spanish explorer was in Anderson almost 100 years before the Pilgrims arrived in America.