Amelia Island FL Amelia Island Museum of History, Ritz Carlton, Omni

      Amelia Island has a fascinating background, and when you look at it you know that only a small percentage of the tales that could be told have been recorded.

     The island boasts that it has had eight flags fly over it - and if the notion is about who has controlled the island the number is undoubtedly higher than that.  

     We start at the Amelia Island Museum of History, a good place to visit if you are on the island.  Bobbie Fost, an energetic New Jersey retiree, served as docent today.  

     The guided tour lasts about an hour and a half, and this is a case where attending the tour is much better than trying to see the museum yourself.  There are seating arrangements at various displays that you rotate through as the docent lectures on the background.  I will do my best to relate what was told me accurately.

     The longest term inhabitants of the island didn't have a flag, so they don't count in the total.  These are the Timucuan Indians.

     The Timucuans were a matri-lineal society, meaning that children settled where their mother was.  When a male married, he had to move to the community his wife to be lived in.  These were a peaceful bunch, and although no one knows how many years they were here prior to the arrival of Europeans, the number is in the thousands of years.

     This society assisted the first Europeans in gaining a foothold here, and the Europeans did not intentionally kill them off as they did in so many areas.  But, within a few generations of the Europeans arrival all of the Timucuans were dead - dead of diseases such as small pox that they had not developed a genetic resistance to.  There are no known descendants of this tribe.

     It was the French who first arrived here in 1562.  This flag was short lived - the Spanish came three years later and executed the 350 colonists.

     The Spanish were fervent in their zeal to convert the "savages" to their brand of religion.  And probably because there was no gold or silver here to exploit, the Spanish were not so driven to abuse the locals.

     The Spanish were here until 1763 - a rule of almost two hundred years.  There were various missions and forts built here, but archaeologically little remains of the Spanish influence.

     In 1763 the English beat the Spanish in the 7 days war, and as part of the surrender Spain ceded Florida to England.

     This English rule only lasts for 20 years, as the English took a drubbing from the colonists to the north that were forming the United States.  In 1783 the English cede Florida back to the Spanish.

    This time the Spanish don't kill everyone off - they give everyone 18 months to leave the island or to swear allegiance to Spain.  The modern day city of Fernandina Beach is begun, although the downtown area is to be relocated in years to come.

     This time era brings a lot of changes - the United States starts to find its stride as a republic.  Slavery is a hotly contested issue, and the United States bans the importation of slaves in 1810.

     Well, right across the river from Amelia Island is the United States, so Amelia Island became heavily involved in African slave smuggling. Supplementing the slave trade was rum running and piracy, and compounding the issue was the fact that while Spanish slaves could buy their freedom, English slaves were slaves for generations.  Blacks who were free were re-enslaved under the English, and now under a second Spanish rule there is a lot of confusion as to who belongs to who.

     Also under the Spanish, some whites were slaves and some were indentured servants.  There were blacks in this area who owned land and had white slaves - the whole thing got terribly confusing.

     Confusing this issue further, many Creek Indians fled here to avoid being exterminated by the colonists in the Carolina s.  They bred with the blacks that were here, forming the beginning of the "Seminoles."  This group never "fit" here, and both the English and the Americans abused them and passed laws to get rid of them.     

     In the early 1800's, the United States was getting tired of all of the smuggling and piracy going on at its southern border.  So President James Madison ordered an invasion that was to look like a fake revolution.  $ 250,000 was put up, and gunboats were sent in 1812 to control the island.  The flag of the new territory was called "The Patriot's Flag."

     The few Spanish soldiers that were here fled south to St. Augustine, and eventually United States admitted they were behind it but told the Spanish that they were "holding the area in trust" for them.

     But in 1813 the Spanish came back and forced the United States off of the island.  Back up went the Spanish flag.  This lasted until 1817 when an Irishman took  the island over.  This set up a particularly difficult period of time for the local slaves, as can be seen in the history of nearby Fort George Island.

     A fellow named Gregor McGregor, a soldier of fortune, took the island over with only 55 soldiers by faking the locals into thinking there were many more.  The Spanish soldiers again retreated to St. Augustine.  A year later, the Spanish force McGregor back off the island, but the USA has sent in new forces in disguise.  The Spanish are not successful in driving them off of the island.

     The mercenaries from the United States join forces with a French pirate named Aury, who for some reason claims the territory for Mexico. 

     Before long, the United States Navy returns and drives out the pirates, and now president James Monroe claims he is "holding the island in trust" for Spain.

     From 1822 to 1845 is a territory of the United States, and in 1845 it is granted full statehood.  Now the 27 star flag of the United States flies.

     In January of 1861, Florida leaves the United States to join the Confederacy.  Thus another flag - and although the confederate battle flag is usually shown, this is the flag that would have flown here.

     Again short lived, Union forces arrived here and took Amelia Island without a fight in March of 1862.  

     By this time the flag was the 34 star flag.  So, depending on how you count flags, there are eight.  Or Ten.  or Twelve . . . I am sure the pirate's skull and cross-bones flew here a few times, and the original Indians never had a flag.  

     Amazingly, the only real death toll on the island was from disease and those French slaughtered by the Spanish back in the 1500's.  It seems everyone else just split when it was time to go.  

     There are a lot of exhibits at the museum - I have just chosen a few that I have not shown at various museums before.

     Here is Edison's original record player.

     The first ones didn't play discs, they played drums that had the grooves cut in them to produce the sound.

     Now here is an ancient contraption.

     Shoot, many of us remember when Polaroids first hit the market.  That wasn't that long ago, was it?

     One of my favorites though was the Pez collection.  I didn't know there were so many Pez dispensers.

KISS?

The Simpson's?

     And Chick Filet?  I am told there are over 550 kinds with thousands of variations.  I guess this is a microcosm of society that will be a sort of "who's who" in future museums.

     There is another State Park on the South end of the island to compliment Fort Clinch.  This is the first public place I have seen that you can drive vehicles on the beach.

     Unique to Amelia Island are thistles the size of bushel baskets.

     Down on this end of the island is an old bridge about a mile long that is all fishing pier today.

     It is a long walk out, and people come from far away to fish here, but there is plenty of pier.  I am not sure why they put a limit on the number of poles.

    This is Jonathon West who comes up once a month or so from Jacksonville.  He is one of the ones with his act together.

     Chairs, fishing gear, coolers - all on a handy wagon.  He even brings food in case the fishing isn't good and he needs alternative dinner plans.

     Even the police have neat vehicles here.  This looks like something out of one of those Mad Max movies.

     And today's parting shot, taken from the South end of the Island:

    Umm, no further comment on that one.

EMAIL me if you like, DONATE if you can, Read Today's Meditation if you have time, but whatever you do be sure to Have an Awesome Thursday !!

David

Amelia Island Florida - Ft. Clinch State Park

     Welcome to Fort Clinch State Park.  Occupying the north end of Amelia Island, this 1100 acres sports over 3 miles of coast as it runs between the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Marys River.  

     As you wind back the three mile lane, you pass through pristine maritime forest and alongside huge dunes piled up from a storm that took place before a written history of the area.

     It is hard to get a perspective on the dunes - but at 30 or so feet high they are the largest we have seen through South Carolina or Georgia.  And there are a number of acres of them along the coastal side.

     Along the way you pass the lighthouse.  Built in 1838, this is Florida's oldest lighthouse and was constructed from materials taken from another lighthouse that was dismantled.

     Ben Faure, 22 year veteran of the Florida State Parks system and director at this park was a big help here.

     

Ben Faure

     There is a lot to keep track of in this park.  First there is the beach that runs along the eastern edge.  Hundreds of thousands of birds either call this home year around or stop by here during migrations.

     A concrete pier runs along a breakwater providing an excellent vantage point for photography, bird watching or fishing.  

     I am not sure of the length of the pier, but it is at least several hundred yards long.

     The park is grace by two camping areas - this one lies directly adjacent to the ocean.

     There is another large campground on the other side of the island as well.  These campsites are nestled in centuries old live oaks and run alongside the river.

     Another distinctive area are the swamps - several walking and biking trails traverse this area, and throughout the park there are many trails open for use.

     260,000 people visit here each year, about 75,000 of those campers.  

     Here Jonathon Canale, 5 year veteran in Florida's State Parks checks in a camper.

     But probably the biggest draw here is Fort Clinch.  The tip of this property overlooks Cumberland Sound and the shipping inlet to the river, and as such was strategically valuable real estate in years past.

     If you look closely, throughout the fort you can see different types of brick used at different times during its construction.

      The thirty five star flag is flow here, reflecting the flag as it was when the fort was built.

     The fort was actually begun much earlier than it was finished.  Construction began in 1847, but before it was finished the civil war broke out.  It was used for 11 months by the Confederacy, primarily as a safe haven for blockade runners. It was reoccupied by the Union who cleaned it up and started back working toward finishing its construction.

     After the civil war, the US Government had it under "care-taker" status until the Spanish-American War in 1998.  After that it began falling into ruin.

      Under Roosevelt's 1930's era projects it sat gathering sand.  A lot of sand.  When the Federal Government sent in CCC workers to fix up the fort in 1935, they first had to remove 10,000 cubic yards of accumulated sand - by hand.

     Above you can see the foundations of a third large building, intended to be the officer's barracks, that was never completed.

     1860's era cannon still keep watch over the inlet.

     It is hard to get a feel for the size of these cannon until you see someone walking beneath them.  These were huge guns, and the inlet isn't that wide.  These cannon would have decimated anything that came close.

     This is Seth, a volunteer that has been coming here for over twenty years.  Ben Faure spoke very highly and with a lot of gratitude about the volunteers that help out here.  He states that the park could not operate without them.  

     1,200,000 hours a year are volunteered, and this makes all the difference in times of budget cuts.  The first weekend of the month a large volunteer group comes out and garrisons the fort.  They live as soldiers did back in the day and show the public how all the various tasks required to run a fort like this were done. 

     To give some perspective, here is the northern tower of the fort with Cumberland Island Georgia in the distance.  This is in fact the northernmost tip of the state of Florida.

     Here are some personnel blockades, consisting merely of sharpened sticks run through a wooden beam.

     These would have been used at the entry-ways of the fort to slow down would-be attackers.

     Narrow, twisted stone stairways lead down into the bowels of the fort, where the brick ceilings make you wonder just how much we trust our engineers.

     Long tunnel-ways and old windows make for neat photo opportunities.

     In the deepest parts were the storeroom areas for explosives.  

     And, if you are going to have a fort, you have to have some prison cells.  

     There are a couple of non-profit groups that help support the fort.  Every year they have a photography contest, and here are a few previous years photographs I really liked.  This first one is by Larry Read.

     Great timing with the robin and the berry.  There is a large area in the park that migrating robins winter at.

     This next one is by Milton Lowry.

     The field almost looks like cotton candy.  

     And this next one was also by Larry Read.  Nice capture Larry.

     The park really is a great place to visit if you are in the area.  One could easily spend a couple of days just exploring and appreciating all that is here.

    Just up the street form the park a fence caught my eye.  It is not usual to see Resurrection Fern growing so thickly on a slender wooden fence.  So, I pulled over to get a couple of shots.

     I really loved the uneven brick walkway and the gate . . .

 . . . but it is the plaque alongside the gate that serves as today's parting shot . . 

     I love it.

EMAIL me if you like, DONATE if you can, Read Today's Meditation if you have time, but whatever you do be sure to Have a Great Tuesday !!

David