BACKYARD ADVENTURE STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN MILLER

BACKYARD ADVENTURE STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN MILLER

Exploring Fort George Island

Fort George Island is one of northeast Florida’s most treasured places, and lucky for us, it’s only a short drive south from Amelia Island on Heckscher Drive. Recently my husband, Troy, and I took a drive over to Fort George to do some hiking, but we ended up spending the entire day exploring the interesting features of this amazing place.

Fort George Island was called Alicamani by the Timucuan Indians, who were living here when French explorer Jean Ribault landed nearby at the mouth of the St. John´s River in 1562. Later it was occupied by the Spanish, and then by the British. A fort was built there in 1736, and eventually the island became home to a number of large plantations.

The first stop we made was the Thompson Tabby House. This structure dates from the mid-1800s, but is the same type of construction that was used in the Americas circa 1580 by the Spanish and their slaves. It is typical tabby construction, a method that is thought to have originated in Africa. The material is oyster shell. We also stopped along the drive to take a photo of a peacock. Yes, there are numerous peacocks and pea hens living here, along with local and migratory birds and other wildlife like deer, raccoons, and armadillos.

Our next stop was the Ribault Club, a restored 1920s recreational club, which is now part of the Fort George Island Cultural State Park and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Here we wandered around, looking at the grand banquet rooms and sprawling lawns with beautiful live oak trees. To the left of the entrance is a museum, where we found out a lot about the Timucua and their culture, along with the ecological aspects of the park.

From there, we hiked along the Fairway Loop Trail, which took us to Mt. Cornelia, the highest point of the island, and Point Isabel. This trail, which is about 3 miles long, skirts a former golf course, which now features a sizable gopher tortoise population. Wood storks, great blue herons, and snowy egrets can be spotted along the salt marsh of the Fort George River. Considered moderately challenging, the trail offers surprising elevation changes, wide water views, and a lush maritime forest setting.

After our hike and a picnic lunch back at the Ribault Club property, we began an auto tour of the island called the Saturiwa Trail. The tour, which begins at the Ribault Club, lasts about an hour, describing the island’s rich history and ecological significance. At Marker #6, we reached Kingsley Plantation, offering an authentic view of an early 1800 sea island cotton plantation. The house, built by John McQueen in 1791, is the oldest plantation house still standing in Florida. The extensive remains of 23 tabby slave cabins provide a valuable resource to learn about slavery.

Kingsley Plantation offers its own walking tour, which took us about an hour to complete, along with a stop at the visitor center for additional information. This area offers beautiful wide-water views, and it’s a great place to take a break. After getting back into our car, we continued our auto tour, where we stopped at interesting places along the road like the San Juan del Puerto Mission site, the Intracoastal Waterway, an old sugar mill site, and the historic St. George Episcopal Church.

We had a great day exploring Fort George Island! For more information about Fort George Island, visit www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails..