NatioNal Park Service • U.S. DePartmeNt of the iNterior Foundation Document Overview Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Florida Contact Information For more information about the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Foundation Document, contact: Park Headquarters at [email protected] or (904) 221-5568 or write to: Superintendent, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, 13165 Mount Pleasant Road, Jacksonville, FL 32225 Purpose Significance Significance statements are directly linked to the purpose of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and express why the Preserve’s resources and values are important enough to warrant national park unit designation. (Please note that the statements are in no particular order). • Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve protects the area where the St. Johns and Nassau rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean and form one of the largest remaining salt marsh estuaries on the Southeast Coast. • Fort Caroline memorializes the French colonists who came to North America during the 16th century seeking religious freedom, wealth, and territorial expansion. • Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is home to Kingsley Plantation, the oldest surviving example of an antebellum Spanish Colonial plantation. The associated cabins are the largest concentration of existing slave quarters constructed of tabby found in the United States. • The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve contains over 200 archeological sites representing more than 6,000 years of continuous human history, including Archaic shell ring sites and the first site where investigations focused on the archeology of slavery and plantation life. • The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is named after the indigenous people who once lived in this area. The Timucua chieftainships were the geographically largest population of American Indians in the territory, THE PURPOSE OF TIMUCUAN now the state of Florida. They were a gateway community where ideas, customs, and commerce flowed between the ECOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC cultures of the Southeast and Caribbean. However, the PRESERVE is to protect the Timucua Indians could not sustain themselves against the natural ecology of over 46,000 epidemic diseases brought to them and were extinct as a people by 1752. acres of lands and waters and over 6,000 years of human • American Beach was the largest and most popular beach history along the St. Johns and resort established by and for African Americans during the divisive Jim Crow era of racial segregation. Nassau rivers in northeast Florida. • The strategic military importance of the St. Johns River is exemplified by the presence of numerous installations within the Preserve for over 450 years, from Fort Caroline in 1564 to Naval Station Mayport today. Fundamental Resources and Values Other Important Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values are closely related to Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve’s designated purpose and merit primary consideration in planning and management because they are critical to maintaining the Preserve’s purpose and significance. If these resources are allowed to deteriorate, the purpose and/or significance of the Preserve could be jeopardized. The fundamental resources and values for Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve are 1. Salt marsh/estuary of the St. Johns, Nassau, and Fort George Rivers Estuarine wetlands and waterways encompass over 75% of the Preserve. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet and provide important breeding grounds for fish, birds, and numerous other animal species. Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve contains other resources and values that may not be fundamental 2. Kingsley Plantation Site to the purpose and significance of the park, but are important to consider in management and planning The cultural landscape of the Kingsley Plantation gives a decisions. These are referred to as other important voice to the plantation owners and enslaved Africans who resources and values. lived and worked there. 3. Commemoration of Following are the other important resources and values Fort Caroline for Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve: 1. American Beach Fort Caroline commemorates the Founded in 1935 by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, Florida’s French colony of la first African American millionaire, American Beach Caroline, founded in 1564. The scaled exhibit gave African Americans a place to recreate and enjoy of the fort provides an the ocean during a time of racial segregation. opportunity for visitors 2. Theodore Roosevelt Area to learn about the first contact between indigenous people and The 600-acre Theodore Roosevelt Area preserves a the colonial interests vestige of the coastal wetlands that once dominated of Europeans in the the Florida coast and serves as a testament to the Americas. importance of preserving natural resources for future generations. 4. Archeological Resources From archaic shell rings and middens to the first excavations focused on the archeology of slavery and plantation life, the Preserve’s 200 sites and extensive collections reflect a rich tapestry of over 6,000 years of human history. 5. Recreational Opportunities Recreational activities such as boating, kayaking, hiking, bird-watching, and fishing enable visitors to connect to and experience the Preserve in a variety of ways. Description of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve was named in Today, the Preserve encompasses 46,000 acres of diverse honor of the Timucua who inhabited the St. Johns River biological systems largely within the city limits of valley for thousands of years and were settled in the area Jacksonville. These biological systems consist primarily at the time of first contact with Europeans. The modern- of estuarine ecosystems, including salt marshes, coastal day history of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve dunes, and upland hardwood hammocks, and salt, begins with Fort Caroline National Memorial, authorized fresh, and brackish water, and serve as habitat for pods as a national park unit in 1950 to commemorate the 16th- of dolphins, flocks of migratory birds, and a number of century French effort to establish a permanent colony rare or sensitive species such as the Atlantic loggerhead in present-day Florida. In 1988, legislation was enacted sea turtle, the West Indian manatee, the wood stork, to establish Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and the bald eagle. to be administered jointly with Fort Caroline National Memorial, which is within the boundary of the Timucuan Inhabited for over 6,000 years, the area contains Ecological and Historic Preserve. archeological sites that illustrate one of the oldest and longest periods of human habitation in the Southeast region of the United Information Observation Pets on leash Salt marsh 0 1 2 Kilometers platform 0 1 2 Miles Food available Boat ramp Do not use this map Intracoastal Waterway States. Shell middens and r Sadle 108 Road for navigation. North Picnic area Canoe/kayak Timucuan Ecological access and Historic Preserve authorized boundary Campground Self-guiding trail ceremonial shell rings A Yulee m e Fernandina l i a Beach D serve as archeological N A1A Island A Exit 373 L S O’Neil A I evidence of early American A1A T A1A Timucuan Ecological and Historic P a rk L Preserve is operated under a w Indian occupation of the 17 a partnership agreement by the y A Florida State Park System, City of Jacksonville, National Park Service, Hedges N region. The history of and over 300 private and corporate landowners. T Amelia C City L I o r French, Spanish, English, e f r e t C o to k n a ig l l A C and American control r e e k N American Beach Lewis St a er s v s i a R u of the area has also Thoma 95 S s C O re e U k T H A I L been documented and A1A E P re s er ve B M A A private I C M B Thomas Creek K n A o property t E u r Area L n a d R I IV c A interpreted for visitors. a E ry R o a s t a l PU M R P K I V IN r W E e R a v i t e R N r w A a S Amelia Island y S A U State Park H I L L R I au V Nass E R Pecan private property TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL Road Park Fishing Bridge Cr e mp a l e S e Exit 366 Y s k e l lo AND HISTORIC PRESERVE Edw w a r d C s RE NASSAU B l E K u ff Cre e SOUND k tt Road a r r a t S Jacksonville R B Big Talbot Island o on International a e Betz TigerP State Park d y r e T Airport Point Preserve s A e L r Sa B v wpit O e Bird T I n R C Island r o t e S 17 a r e k d a a w c o Exit 363 p a i t s t a I P l S u L D m A N N p A L D k W S L i I n I a T k R t T H Pumpkin Hill Creek e e N B o L r e e i E o a r l w w l Preserve State Park u d C G n a R d y N o e a l O a r t Berlin L r d y y ad Ro C M e ad T da Ro A Little Talbot 295 r t L Poin B Island Exit 362 O T State Park son Simp O I C S r L e 9A A v F i O N r d R T D C D a Boat o G E R Dock O RG E E Ribault B k 104 R O e Cedar Point W A e Club A r a R t Exit 360 C l D Visitor D A n i FORT U N l Center r N e GEORGE 163 N k B e R e Kingsley Plantation I r ISLAND V R C E C k FORT GEORGE e R I Visitor Center R k e V owns r E Br e E C INLET e E r R t K C D n r w i iv e e o s d r N P r e Heckscher RI a r t Huguenot V 105 a s o E i d b A1A R S e Memorial Park p 105 105 C BLOUNT a S l Exit 358A T C R N O ISLAND U H T Timucuan Preserve O R J E Visitor Center IV Palms Fish Camp R St.