We had a very busy day here in northeastern Florida! This morning we drove to the St John's River Ferry for the 0800 hrs launch and made our way from Mayport to Fort George Island.
We then drove north a few miles to the Kingsley Plantation National Park.
To get to the plantation we had to drive a little over two miles of dirt road which was badly in need to grading. The potholes and rut force us to drive very slowly for most of the trip.
Due to COVID, all of the buildings were closed but the grounds were open and much of it is a self-guided tour. The buildings were very well maintained. There was a visitor center but it was also closed.
Plantation era came to Florida in 1763 after Britain took control from Spain. After that the first planter was given land here and brought slaves and household. Spain regained control in 1783 but plantations remained the way of life. Fort George Island continued to be run as a plantation by various owners but the one common was slavery.
The Kingsley Plantation house and kitchen building (forefront)
The kitchen building where slaves prepared all the meals for the family
River view of the house
A picture through the window into the house
Beautiful floors in the house
Beautiful entrance door (all the doors were locked)
In 1814 Zephaniah Kingsley moved his family to this plantation. He used what was called the "Task System" which was common to sea island plantations. Each slave was given a daily task and once that task was completed they could do whatever they wanted. Tasks included plowing, planting, picking and ginning cotton plus many others.
Cotton growing for display
There are many of the slaves quarters still standing, at least the side walls. They have maintained one with a roof and fireplace.
We counted about 20 slave quaters
The kitchen and living room area - dirt floors
Looking from the kitchen area into the bedroom area
Even though the buildings were closed, we are glad we were able to visit this plantation. It is hard to imagine a society where slavery is accepted. I am glad this has been preserved so that future generations can learn.
After visiting the plantation we made our way back down the dirt road to the highway and then north across a bridge to Amelia Island State Recreation Area. Soon we had arrived in Fernandina. The lighthouse we wanted to see here does not open until 1100 hrs so we planned a few other stops.
The first stop was Pippi Longstocking's house! I don't remember much about Pippi Longstocking but Doreen did. Pippi was a fictional red-haired, freckled girl with superhuman strength.
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44712438
In 1998 there was a film called "The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking" which was based on a series of books written by a Swedish author. Pippi and her iconic red-haired braids wash ashore in Fernandina Beach Florida and lived in a house called Villa Villekulla. The house is privately owned and inaccessible, but was easy to spot!
Pippi Longstocking's house
A close-up on the gate in front of the house
We still had quite a bit of time before the lighthouse grounds opened, so we made our way .to the Amelia Island Museum of History. We had brought Liberty along today because of the length of the trip and the museum was nice enough to allow us to bring her into the museum in her stroller.
The Amelia Island Museum of History resides in the old Nassau County Jail building, which added to the uniqueness of it! The museum captures this history of this area dating back to 1562. In 1736 General James Oglethorpe named the island Amelia Island to honor Princess Amelia, the daughter of England's King George II. A few pictures:
The old jail cell
The Amelia Island Lighthouse
Maritime display and the history of fishing and shrimping here
Civil War and Amelia Island
Early artifacts
Before we departed the museum we discovered they held the lighthouse stamp for Doreen's lighthouse passport, so she was able to get it stamped before we left!
It was almost 1100 hrs so we drove to the lighthouse grounds and were able to see it and the oil house. Others had started o gather there was well, and one little girl's name was Amelia!
The Amelia Island Lighthouse has guided vessels into Amelia Harbor since 1839. It is still a working lighthouse, one of the few in Florida. The lighthouse's first keeper was Amos Latham, a Revolutionary War veteran. The mechanism that rotated the 15 inch oil burning lamps and reflectors required winding every four hours, day in and day out! It currently uses a third order Fresnel lens that ws built in France and installed in 1903. It is 67 ft tall and the walls are four feet thick at the bottom tapering to two feet thick at the top.
The Coast Guard station for the lighthouse
The oil house
Doreen in front of the Amelia Island Lighthouse
Unfortunately it is closed to climbing, but at least we got to see it and Doreen got her passport stamped!
We drove back to the ferry along a busy road. The Memorial Day weekend has started which draws many people to the beach. So traffic was a bit crazy, but expected. We did not have to wait long for the ferry and headed back to the campground. The Cubs were hosting the Cincinnati Reds so we watched the game and then had our nightly walk.
No big plans for the remainder of the weekend. We want to avoid the holiday traffic and have seen most of what we wanted to see here, so we will likely hunker down here, take care of some tasks and enjoy the beach just a couple blocks away. Our thoughts are with those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our Nation. Have a safe Memorial weekend.
