La Florida: October 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Timucuan Trail State and National Parks

Kingsley Plantation
Photo by Mark M.
10/17/08

From the National Park Service:

The Kingsley Plantation, administered by the National Park Service, is located on Fort George Island and includes the plantation house, a kitchen house, a barn, and the ruins of 25 of the original slave cabins. The history of the island spans more than 1000 years beginning with the Timucuan Indians. The structures at the site, however, date to the plantation era of the island. The Kingsley Plantation was named for one of several plantation owners, Zephaniah Kingsley, who operated the property from 1813-1839. Kingsley operated under a "task" system, which allowed slaves to work at a craft or tend their own gardens once the specified task for the day was completed. Proceeds from the sale of produce or craft items were usually kept by the slaves. Purchased as a slave, Kingsley's wife, Anna Madgigine Jai, was freed in 1811. She was active in plantation management and became a successful business woman owning her own property. As an American territory, Florida passed laws that discriminated against free blacks and placed harsh restrictions on African slaves. This prompted Kingsley to move his family, impacted by these laws, to Haiti, now the Dominican Republic, where descendants of Anna and Zephaniah live today.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Friday, October 17, 2008

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Betz Tiger Point Preserve

Please click on this image to see it. The photo is difficult to read on the blog. We posted it because it shows a something we don't often see: giant flocks of wading bird. This was a common site around the turn of the 20th century before bird hunters nearly forced the extinction of several species for their feathers. Needless to say, we will be back out there to see if we can better photographs.

Egrets and ibises
Photo by Mike M.
10/9/2008