November 10

I-95S to I-295S then Florida 105 had me at Kingsley Plantation for today’s first stop. This property is within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. This park covers all sorts of different landscapes, from wetlands to salt marshes, to coastal dunes, and hardwood forests. Kingsley tells the story of the vast plantations which spread across the northern part of Spanish Florida in the 1700s and 1800s. With Spain in control of this land, African people could be free and own land and slaves. As the ranger at the park told me, if of these black-skinned people lived 30 miles north, in the British colony of Georgia, they would not have had such freedoms. When Florida was formally occupied by the United States of America in 1821 (formal statehood was in 1845), Spanish racial policies were replaced by the mindset that all Africans, free or slave, were inferior and only had value as being slaves. Within a decade half of the free Africans had left the state. But Anna Kingsley, the wife of Zephaniah Kingsley, prospered. She had come to Florida, from Cuba, as a slave. She married Zephaniah, making a mixed-racial couple. When Zephaniah was absent from the plantation, Anna took control of the business empire. She lived at this plantation home until 1837, but the entire family moved to Hiati because of the increasing violence against blacks in Florida. She came back to challenge the threats of her husband’s white family members after he died, eventually winning in court, then retiring to Jacksonville, where she died in 1870.

The park property is interesting in that when you enter the front gate you are met with ruins of slaves’ cabins. A short distance later you “cross over” into the owner’s home area, complete with stables, gardens, and other buildings. The drive to get to this unit is on 2.1 miles of packed dirt/sand after leaving the state road. A staff volunteer said that when it rains, the road is a mess. The highest profit crop on their plantation was cotton, over indigo and sugar cane. The “task system” was used to specialize the use of each slave, to increase efficiency. Think Henry Ford and the assembly line.

There were not many flying insects, even though the plantation house is right along the Fort George River, situated in coastal wetlands. And this held when I stepped out of my car at Fort Caroline NMem. This park unit is situated within the boundaries of the Preserve but is standalone when it comes to counting the number of National Parks managed by the NPS. The VC is dated, with only a small museum. This park leaves its Passport Cancellation stamps outdoors on a table. Most visitors will stop at the table then proceed to walk the 0.3-mile path to the recreated fort. This park commemorates the landing of Frenchman Jean Ribault and his men on these shores in 1562. France wanted their presence to be felt in the New World, knowing Spain already had a foothold in this region (and the British would soon land at Roanoke Island, in 1585…, remember, that is another NPS park). The group was not able to make a permanent settlement, but in 1564 another group returned and built Fort Caroline to prepare for engagements with the Spanish.

The exact site of the original fort has never been determined. But the spot where Ribault landed is known. A replica stone column has been erected on the hill which overlooks the river. Ribault had his men place their column here to honor the voyage and to announce that this land now belonged to France. This site is 0.6-miles east of the vehicle entrance to the VC and fort, and has its own parking lot.

An hour later I was parking in the city of St. Augustine’s 3-story parking garage. My wallet became $20 lighter. I chose to park here because I did not want to spend an hour circling the small parking lot for Castillo de San Marcos NMon. The historic section of this oldest city in America was packed with tourists. With the parking garage nearly full (probably 1,000 spaces in the structure), easy to see St. Augustine has found a good revenue stream for their coffers. This is a fee-park, so I waited while five groups ahead of me paid for their entry. The fort is massive, especially considering construction began in 1672. Some of our American forts from the 19th century are not this large. A dry moat around the perimeter had a dual purpose; harder for invaders to gain entry and a pasture for livestock. A volunteer was dressed in full Spanish military wear. A ranger told me this was 4 to 5 layers of wool clothing. Folks think the main issue would be the heat, but he said the primary problem was the weight, with one layer weighing up to 15 pounds. Yes, the heat was not helpful, but all that weight… wow.

** I am going to have pause again. Tomorrow is only two parks and I should have more time to add comments.

A lady was dressed in colonial period attire. I forgot to ask if she was a ranger or a volunteer. Regardless, wonderful to see people helping teach history to visitors. She commented on how Irish found their way to north Florida while Spain ruled this land. The big connecting point was that both Spaniards and Irish are Catholics, so Spain allowed these folks to intermingle in St. Augustine. Therefore, this was the site of the first St. Patrick’s Day celebration and parade in the New World. I bet no junior high or high school history books mention this fact.

I would have made it to Fort Matanzas 20 minutes earlier if the famous Bridge of Lions had not been raised to allow the passing of various boats. Must have been a few hundred cars backed up on both sides of the bridge, having to wait while a few vessels leisurely sailed through. You can decide who should have the right-of-way. But, the distance to the park is only 14 miles, which was beneficial because when I walked into the VC at 2:15 PM, there was one ticket left for the 2:30 PM ferry ride to the watchtower. Boy Scout Troop 665 from western Florida had most of the tickets. They, me, and a few other visitors walked onto Trinite, the ferry. This was the name of Jean Ribault’s flagship, which led seven ships in 1565 to Fort Caroline for resupplying the settlement of New France. In a few minutes we were docking at the watchtower, situated on Rattlesnake Island. The NPS uses the word watchtower, but one might just say a “small fort”. This structure was completed in 1742, to help the Spanish guard against any seaborne assault via the Matanzas River. The word Matanzas means “slaughter”, which is what the Spanish soldiers did to Jean Ribault and his men in 1565 when the French sailed down from Fort Caroline with the intent of attacking St. Augustine. The ships were sunk due to a storm, with survivors swimming to shore, south of this watchtower area. As the French walked northward, trying to return to Fort Caroline, they were captured by the Spanish and slaughtered, after having laid down their arms in surrender. That is how the river, the watchtower, and the park got their names.

A colony of Fiddler Crabs has survived along the walkway from the dock to the fortification. Some visitors stopped to view the comings and goings of the small creatures. All of us climbed up to the first tier of the fort, while others climbed to the next level, and a handful squeezed through an opening to the roof. It is easy to see why the Spanish built here in order to keep an eye on advancing ships. The two 8-pounder guns on the first level are original to the fort, while the two 6-pounders are reproductions, today used for demonstration firing purposes.

So, three National Parks within 50 miles of each other, connected together by one fateful objective; the staking of a New World claim. And it takes all three to properly tell the story of what happened here in the mid-16th century.