JimBob's National Parks Page: December 2014

Revisit to Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

In keeping with my self-promise to do my park visits in depth, I revisited the several parts of Timucuan over 3 days, including a couple of parts I had not previously seen. I also was successful and picking up several missing stamps and a new 400^th anniversary pin for Ft. Caroline.

We started with a visit to the Ribault Club, but it was closed. So we headed on over to Kingsley Plantation and did the entire site. We took a free guided audio tour that took over an hour, and covered every part of the plantation.- I went into the barn, into the slave quarters, and also the kitchen rooms and the garden area. Checked out all of the historical markers- Biggest thing I learned here was the owner, Mr Kingsley, was married to a black woman, which I had not known before.

The next day, we headed on down to the Park “Headquarters” and Ft Caroline VC. We walked all the way down to the fort, and around it, and did the exhibits of the visitor center as well.

Then, we went over to the Ribault Column, which is also a part of the park, which I had not seen before. The marker resembles the one at Parris Island, SC.

One part of Fort Caroline National Memorial is the Ribault Monument. Situated atop St. Johns Bluff, the monument provides a commanding view of the St. Johns River. On a clear day, you can see the Atlantic Ocean and Mayport Naval Station five miles to the east, and river activity, wildlife, and marshes below. The monument is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. daily.
History of the Monument
The Ribault Monument commemorates the 1562 landing of Jean Ribault near the mouth of the St. Johns River. Ribault erected a stone column bearing the coats of arms of his French King Charles IX to claim Florida for France.
During the early 1920s a movement began in the Florida Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution to mark the location of Ribault’s first arrival in the New World. The goal was to highlight the beginnings of European colonization of Florida by Protestants - for the sake of religious freedom - and to remind Americans that this colony was established half a century prior to the Plymouth Colony. In 1924 a piece of land was donated near present-day Mayport for a new column designed by Florida sculptor Charles Adrian Pillars. The U.S. Post Office also released a commemorative stamp of Ribault’s landing, and the U.S. Mint released a coin.
When U.S. Naval Station Mayport was established in 1941, the monument became inaccessible to the public and was moved. Three moves later, in 1958, the monument found its permanent home on St. Johns Bluff, and became part of the new National Park site, Fort Caroline National Memorial.

Then, we went to the Roosevelt Area of the Park, which I had not done before- we did a 2 mile walk around the area and saw Mr Brown’s cabin and burial site- he is the fellow who willed the property to the state/national park system.

Then, we headed back up and made it to the Ribault Club and I got my stamps there.