Joseph Finegan
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Fall 2011 First we built a Sand Castle. Then we found our HOME. Discover what it’s like to own a piece of the island. Contact us today to learn about home and villa ownership opportunities in Amelia Island Plantation, the premier oceanfront resort community located on the picturesque shores of North Florida, just minutes from Jacksonville. Call 800-305-6157 or visit aipfl.com/realestate to learn more. 3.5 miles of beach • 7 miles of nature trails • Resort pools • Golf • Tennis • Fitness center • Spa • Clubhouse Homes | Homesites | Villas ©2011 Amelia Island Plantation OMAI-2000E_5x8_AmNow_F.indd 1 5/9/11 2:07 PM Fall Break Take a fall break on Amelia Island and enjoy the many special events and activities scheduled over the next three months. Live music will be plentiful at both the Amelia Island Blues Festival (Sep. 16-17) and the Amelia Island Jazz Festival (Oct. 2-9). For sports fans, the annual Florida- Georgia football game in Jacksonville (Oct. 29) is a can't miss event. And for the fourth consecutive year, the Petanque America Open will come to Historic Downtown Fernandina (Nov. 11-13). More fall event information can be found starting on page 8. Please consult the map on page 20 to help find your way around the island. Amelia Now is a quarterly magazine published by Charles Litrico, P. O. Box 1495, Fernandina Beach, FL 32035. Phone (904) 583-3216. ©Charles Litrico 2011. Cover photo by Charles Litrico. Photos this page: Amelia Island Jazz Festival by Caroline Blochlinger; beach by Charles Litrico; fishermen by Terry Lacoss. If you would like to subscribe to Amelia Now, please send $8 to cover postage and handling for a one-year subscription (4 quarterly issues). Please visit our website at www.amelianow.com. Over 50 Dealers Professional Group NATIONWIDE SHIPPING Nobody in the world AVAILABLE sells more real estate than RE/MAX! Open daily Visa/MC (904) 277-8550 Fernandina Beach 904-321-1999 604 Centre Street • Historic Downtown 303 Centre Street 800-979-1998 Amelia Now Fall 2011 3 Amelia Island At A Glance Name: Bestowed by Oglethorpe in honor of Princess Amelia, the daughter of George II. Location: The northeasternmost corner of Florida, just across the St. Marys River from Georgia. 32 miles northeast of Jacksonville. Elevation: Avg. 20-25 feet above mean 702 Centre St. sea level Size: 13.5 miles long. Width varies from a Residential quarter mile to two miles. 11,600 acres. 18.2 Sales square miles (7 square miles in the city limits and of Fernandina Beach.) Property Only U.S. location to have been under 8 flags: Management French, Spanish, British, Patriots, Green Cross of Florida, Mexican, Confederate and U.S. Population: www.SeaHorseOfAmelia.com Fernandina Beach: 11,656 904-432-8184 Nassau County: 70,576 2477 Sadler Road Annual avg. temperature: 69.9° F 50-block area of downtown Fernandina Beach listed in the National Register of Historic Places Main tourist attractions: beach, golf, fishing, sailing, Fort Clinch, American Beach, Centre Street Historic District, Amelia Island Museum of History Principal industries: tourism, Omni Amelia Island Plantation, The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Rayonier, Inc., Smurfit Stone Container Corp., commercial and sport fishing, Port of Fernandina. 4 Amelia Now Fall 2011 WOMEN’S JUNIOR’S MISSY CHEAP CHIC Mon.-Fri. 10-5:30 Sat. 10-5 ResaleRocks Fifis.Amelia Banks - Centre St., S. 8th, S. 14th, Sadler Rd. 1853 S. 8th Street SAVVY SHOPPING ! Chamber of Commerce - 961687 Gateway Blvd., Suite 101-G RECYCLING AT ITS FINEST (904) 277-4430 Churches - Amelia Plantation Interdenom- ACCESSORIES PETITE inational Chapel, 1450 Bowman Rd., 277-4414 Amelia Baptist - 961167 Buccaneer Trail, 261-9527 First Assembly of God - 302 S. 14th, 261-6448 First Baptist - 1600 South 8th Street, 261-3617 First Missionary Baptist - 22 S. 9th, 261-4907 Five Points Baptist - 736 Bonnie View, 261-4615 The only North 14th St. Baptist - 519 N. 14th, 261-0422 thing better New Zion Miss. Bapt. - 10 S. 10th, 261-0010 Catholic - 4th & Broome, 261-3472 than Beauty Church of Christ - 1005 S. 14th St., 261-9760 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - is ice cream 2800 S. 14th Street, 261-7370 with a friend! Episcopal - 8th & Atlantic, 261-4293 Grace Community Church - 85439 Miner Road, 491-0363 Holy Trinity Anglican - 1830 Lake Park Drive, 430-0274 Full Service Salon Specializing in Color Lutheran - 2600 Atlantic Avenue - 261-6306 5472 First Coast Hwy (Park Place) Trinity United Methodist - 8th & Ash, 277-6859 1/2 mile from Ritz-Carlton & A.I. Plantation 261-4500 Methodist - 601 Centre Street, 261-5769 Presbyterian - 9 N. 6th Street, 261-3837 Hospital - 1250 S. 18th Street Library - 25 N. 4th Street, Tues., Wed., Fri. & Sat. 10-6; Mon. & Thurs. 10-8; closed Sunday. Museum - Corner of South 3rd and Cedar; guided tours 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Police Department - 1525 Lime Street Post Office - Centre at 4th, Sadler at Citrona Public Restrooms - Centre Street next to the Visitor Center, Library, Central Park, Main Beach, Peter’s Point Chocolates • Ice Cream Shopping Centers - Downtown, S 8th., Chocolates • Ice Cream S. 14th., Sadler Road, Palmetto Walk, The Shops at Omni Amelia Island Plantation, The Shops at Amelia Fudge • Coffee Market, Park Place, Gateway to Amelia Visitor Center - 102 Centre Street "Take a taste of Amelia home" DAVE TURNER Selected as one of PLUMBING Southern Living's favorite shops FL#CFC057478 GA#006661 (904) 277-3942 ALL CANDIES MADE ON SITE (904) 277-4533 (800) 719-2821 FAX (904) 277-4220 474390 East State Road 200 218 Centre Street Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 277-4801 Amelia Now Fall 2011 5 400 Years Under 8 Flags Amelia Island is Florida’s Golden Isle which to regain control but were repelled by forces the French visited, the Spanish developed, led by Jared Irwin and Ruggles Hubbard. the English named and the Americans tamed. Mexican Rebel Flag - Irwin and Hubbard It is the only U.S. location to have been under were joined by the pirate Luis Aury, who eight different flags. gained control and raised the Mexican rebel French 1562-1565: The island’s first flag. U.S. troops occupied the island in recorded European visitor was France’s Jean December, 1817, and held it "in trust for Ribault on May 3, 1562. He named the Spain." island "Isle de Mai." Two years later, Rene de United States 1821 - present (with one Laudonniere founded Fort Caroline nearby. interruption): Spain ceded Florida to the Spanish 1565-1763: The Spanish, under United States in 1821. Work began on Fort Pedro Menendez, defeated the French and Clinch in 1847. In the 1850s, Fernandina founded St. Augustine in 1565. During their moved from Old Town to become the ter- long dominion, the Spanish concentrated on minus for Florida’s first cross-state railroad. educating and converting the natives, and Organized by Senator David Yulee, the rail- the island name of "Santa Maria" was derived road ran from Fernandina to Cedar Key. from a mission here. The mission and settle- Confederate - The Confederates took ment were destroyed in 1702 by the English. over Fort Clinch in April, 1861, but federal Oglethorpe renamed the island "Amelia" after troops regained it in March, 1862, and occu- the daughter of George II. pied it for the duration of the Civil War. English 1763-1783: The island became The Golden Years 1875-1900: known as "Egmont" from the Earl of Egmont’s Fernandina's Historic District retains the large indigo plantation. Revolutionary forces evidence of the town's greatest period of invaded in 1777 and 1778. prosperity. Tourists flocked here via steam- Spanish 1783-1821 (with 3 interruptions): ers direct from New York to stay in two ele- After the Revolution, Britain ceded Florida gant hotels. Shipping boomed with lumber, back to Spain. Jefferson’s Embargo Act of phosphate and naval stores. The Spanish- 1807, which closed U.S. ports to foreign ship- American War fostered gunrunning from the ping, made the border town of Fernandina a local port, and troops again occupied Fort center of smuggling and piracy. Clinch. After the turn of the century, tourism Patriots - With secret U.S. blessings, the surged southward. so-called "Patriots of Amelia Island" over- 1900-present: Early in the 20th cen- threw the Spanish and hoisted their own flag tury, the modern shrimping industry was on March 17, 1812. They replaced it with the founded here, pioneered by Mike Salvador, U.S. flag the next day, but Spain demanded Salvatore Versaggi and Antonio Poli. Shrimp, return of the island. The Spanish completed oyster and crab canneries prospered until Fort San Carlos in 1816. the Depression. The 30s brought two pulp Green Cross of Florida - To liberate mills, Container Corporation of America (now Florida from Spanish control, Sir Gregor Smurfit Stone) and Rayonier. In recent times, MacGregor seized Fort San Carlos in June, sparked by Omni Amelia Island Plantation 1817, and hoisted his Green Cross standard. and the Ritz-Carlton, the island has gained After his withdrawal, the Spanish attempted national attention as a resort. 6 Amelia Now Fall 2011 Consignment Shopping at its Best What’s In Resale Boutique Ladies Apparel & Accessories Love what you wear… and let us help you get there! 904-491-1180 Fernandina's 50-block downtown historic district is 1875 S. 14th Street • Amelia Island listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fernandina's Historic District A 50-block area of Downtown Fernandina is cited on the National Register of Historic Places because of its amazing preservation of late Victorian architecture. This reflects Fer- nandina's great prosperity from tourism and shipping in the late 1800s.