Go: Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is one of National Park Service's more unusual sites
By Michael Schuman
Correspondent |
Willie Browne, born in 1889, lived his entire life on the outskirts of Jacksonville, Fla., today a sprawling city. Even when Willie lived there 50-plus years ago, the city was already spreading, taking over the remaining unspoiled coastal wetlands like a king blanket on a twin bed. Browne observed at the time, "Pretty soon there will come a day when there will be nothing but a concrete jungle from New York City to Jacksonville."
Wealthy people offered Browne millions of dollars to buy his land, but Browne always turned them down. He wanted no concrete jungle. In 1969, the year before he died, he donated 600 acres of his property to The Nature Conservancy so future generations would "have a place in the woods to go." In 1990 it became a part of the National Park Service.
Today it is part of the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, named for the indigenous Timucua people who centuries ago hunted, fished and made dugout canoes out of the plentiful pine trees. The preserve is one of the National Park Service's more unusual properties. It comprises much of the meandering St. Johns River; a re-created 16th century fort; the remnants of an early 19th century plantation; a wilderness named after Willie Browne's hero, Theodore Roosevelt; and a scattering of Florida state parks with their own personalities.
There is much more than one day's worth of activities here. As inviting as it was, we eschewed a guided kayaking trip to explore on foot. Under a cloudless northern Florida sky, we took the short walk from the visitor center to Fort Caroline National Memorial, a one-third scale model of a fort based on a sketch by a French colonist and mapmaker in the 1500s. Yes, France established a colony here before the Spanish and English did.
While it is known that the real Fort Caroline stood somewhere in the vicinity of the reproduced fort, the exact location is unknown. It is very possible that it is under a modern subdivision. Or perhaps it was washed away when the river channel was moved in the 1880s. The reproduced fort is triangle-shaped and made from wood, not the commonly used tabby or coquina so prevalent in these parts. Wood was plentiful in the 16th century and research shows that settlers used hatchets, cutting hooks, shovels and muscle power to utilize it.
A few cannons are reminders of the fort's primary purpose, and interpretive markers offer insight into its history and some of the unsolved mysteries surrounding it. (A favorite photo opportunity is of one cannon seemingly in perfect position to take down a power plant in the distance.) The staff plans to add more exhibits relating to the Timucuan people. Right now, a reproduced hut and communal meeting place made of wood, palm fronds, leaves and mud represents life in a much earlier time.
Close as it is to the city, the fort grounds are used by locals for recreation and exercise, so don't be surprised to encounter Jacksonvillians involved in their daily jogging regimens.
Travel a few miles east, cross the St. Johns River ferry, then head a bit north onto Fort George Island, home to the now dormant Kingsley Plantation. Fort Caroline was ancient history when the plantation was thriving during the peak of the antebellum South. The main house at Kingsley Plantation sits handsomely on a stretch of cropped lawn among strands of palm and oak trees, a relic of a different time when owning people was a way of life in much of the country.
The property was the possession of Zephaniah and Anna Kingsley. Zephaniah moved to the island and established a cotton plantation here in 1814, when the Spanish still controlled what would become extreme northeast Florida. Zephaniah's wife, Anna, came with him. Anna was an African woman, a native of what is now the nation of Senegal. Zephaniah purchased Anna as a slave, then married her. There is a bit of irony in the fact that Anna went from slave to slave owner.
The grounds tour is self-guided. But visitors can borrow a taped acoustic guide, where they hear the tales of plantation life. Interpretive markers carefully placed around the grounds include quotes from owners and slaves, but the story here is told mostly from the point of view of the slaves. One quote from Zephaniah reads in part, "…we are therefore to look for labour to that intrinsically valuable cast of People called Negro Slaves whose productive labour and cheerful obediance (sic) has in all cases been measured by the Justice and good treatment of their master…"
The grounds tour takes visitors past the barn and garden, and inside the kitchen with its rectangular brick hearth, storage barrels, a roughhewn wooden table and benches. Most plantation structures are made from tabby, a concoction of oyster shells, sand and water, with a lime putty exterior, peculiar to the coastal Southeast. Remains of the tabby slave cabins stand like giant corroded teeth in the form of a semi-circle. Most plantations built slave cabins in a straight line. The unusual semi-circle pattern is similar to village designs in areas of western Africa.
But this is an ecological as well as a historic preserve, and one of the most fun walking excursions is the easy trek to Boneyard Beach, located on Big Talbot Island State Park, also a part of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Fallen live oak and cedar trees drape the beach, forming landscapes that bear a resemblance to the works of Salvador Dali paintings, (only lacking Dali's famed melting watches). Over time, the power of the Atlantic's tides uprooted the trees, causing them to tumble; the torrid Florida sun allowed them to become bleached.
The beach lies below a 20-foot-high bluff and is most easily reached by a meandering trail through palmettos, live oaks, beauty berries and myriad other tropical flora. It's an easy walk about a half-mile long. When you reach the beach, it doesn't take much imagination to see big-beaked birds, coiled snakes and dinosaur heads in the forms of the twisted and knotted branches and bows. Although people swim here, Boneyard Beach is best for exploring and photography. Our time was a bit limited because the tide was coming in. But what we lost in time we gained in aesthetics. Views of the ocean rushing under the big tree bones caused us to linger as long as we could.
And next time, maybe we'll give our feet a rest and take that guided kayak tour.
Weekend Scoop Newsletter
Check out the latest entertainment and arts news, then plan your weekend with a look ahead at what's happening around Hampton Roads.
Information: Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve: (904) 641-7155 www.nps.gov/timu Talbot Islands State Parks: (904) 251-2320 www.floridastateparks.org/park/Big-Talbot-Island
Latest Life & Culture
'Creative Mind' exhibit at Nauticus celebrates African American contributions in math, engineering, science
Son and father thank staff of Chesapeake senior living facility with a surprise
Cat, hit by car and left for dead, gets life-changing surgery and a new home
Nearby lodging:
Courtyard by Marriott Jacksonville I-295 East Beltway, 9815 Lantern St., (904) 247-6782 doubles: $149-$249, restaurant in lobby, www.marriott.com/jaxne
Holiday inn Express Jacksonville East, 53 Jefferson Road, (904) 997-9190, doubles: $125-$150, free continental breakfast included a few hot items www.holidayinnexpress.com
Camping is available on Little Talbot Island. There are 32 sites; 20 for RVs and tents, 12 for tents only. (904) 251-2320. Price per night: $33.62 ($27.12 plus $6.50 reservation fee) for all sites. www.reserveamerica.com
Michael Schuman, mschuman@ne.rr.com
Timucua Natives
Timucuan Ecological And Historic Preserve
Fort Caroline National Memorial
Fort George Island
Kingsley Plantation
Boneyard Beach
Most Read • Life & Culture