Jackson County, Florida USA
[Roman Catholic]
Franciscan missionaries founded the Spanish mission of San Nicolas in 1674 as they went west from the mission of San Luis in what is now Tallahassee. The mission was in a large Chatot, or Chacato, Indian village. Consisting of a church, a home for the priest, and a storage building, the mission lasted for a year until the priest fled for his life. For several decades after the mission closed, the site remained a landmark and camping place for Spanish explorers. The exact location has not been determined, but the church was at the mouth of a very large cave, with a stream flowing inside, west of the Chipola River. It is thought the site was either the cave at Waddell's Mill Pond or the Arch Cave three miles northwest of Marianna.