This Hilton Head street is named for a ‘little fat man.’ Here’s why

Although many street names that exist on Hilton Head Island today have historical significance, only two can be traced back to the island’s earliest beginnings.

Most of you are familiar with Cordillo Parkway, but what about De Ayllon Avenue? It’s the only street that connects South Forest Beach Drive with Cordillo Parkway, and it has a big back story.

The Rev. Robert E.H. Peeples, who spent decades researching and sharing Hilton Head’s history, told the story best in an article in Islander Magazine in October 1974.

Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon had his chance to seek fame and fortune in the New World. Unfortunately, it never quite panned out the way he had imagined.

De Ayllon was a royal official on Hispanolia, a Spanish Island which is now split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

In 1520, with a royal license to explore the mainland of North America, he outfitted and sent out a ship commanded by Francisco Gordillo, whose name was later softened to Cordillo.

Gordillo, which translated to “little fat man,” sailed his lone ship up the continental coast, perhaps as far as Long Island before losing his nerve and turning toward home.

In June 1521, Gordillo met another Spanish ship as he was passing through the Bahamas. It turned out to be commanded by his cousin, Pedro de Quexos just beginning a slave-hunting voyage. The cousins decided two ships were better than one in strange waters, so they joined forces and sailed northward.

Despite orders from De Ayllon against taking Native American slaves, upon making landfall, the pair tricked 150 Chicora Indians to just aboard the two vessels, promising them food and clothing.

With the Chicora Indians below the ships’ decks, the pair spread their sails and sailed southward, hoping to escape an approaching storm.

Still, they were not able to outrun it. De Quexo’s ship, which was temporarily under the command of Gordillo, was destroyed and Gordillo went down along with it.

Gordillo’s ship, temporarily commanded by De Quexos, however rode out the storm.

And, in August 1521, the ship De Ayllon sent out months earlier had discovered Hilton Head and the Port Royal Sound, realizations neither would bear until a century later.

Shortly after, the kidnapping of Chicora Indians was investigated and De Ayllon was ordered to immediately return them.

De Ayllon agreed but asked to visit Spain first in order to secure a license to colonize the area.

In 1523, the Emporer Charles V granted De Ayllon a charter that included the right to colonize and govern the area, to provide for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the native Indians and the obligation to seek for a “strait to the Spice Indians,” according to Peeples.

In July 1526, De Ayllon set sail with six ships, carrying about 500 colonists, including women, slaves and the first horses to reach North America, 98 Spanish steeds.

De Ayllon was sailing directly to Hilton Head — where he intended to settle — but was apparently persuaded to move farther north.

The colony he established quickly became a disaster. The Native Americans grew hostile, slaves revolted and many colonists died of diseases, including De Ayllon.

By December 1526, about 150 survivors decided to abandon the colony and head back to Hispaniola. Disaster struck again and the ship was engulfed in a winter storm, sinking all aboard along with the coffin carrying the remains of their governor, De Ayllon.

De Allyon’s colony never quite came to fruition. Both he and Gordillo were laid to rest in the sea.

Their names, however, live on in De Ayllon Avenue and Cordillo Parkway on Hilton Head Island.

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 12:21 PM with the headline "This Hilton Head street is named for a ‘little fat man.’ Here’s why."