We are off the St. John River Ferry and have arrived on St. George Island.
As we drive down the road we see a road sign that shows us which to go to see Kingsley Plantation. Wow as we drive towards the way to Kingsley Plantation we see another sign at the beginning of a dirt road. Sometimes, authentic Florida adventures lead you to places you never knew existed.
The dirt road takes you all the way around the island. An overhanging of thick canopy of majestic oak trees will give you an instant feel of OLD FLORIDA. The experience of being in this stunning tree cathedral is reason enough to go to Fort George Island.
After several miles of driving down the beautiful canopy of trees, we reach a clearing and pull over and park.
KINGSLEY PLANTATION
The first thing we see is a circular row of little houses with no roofs. The houses were slave quarters. The houses were constructed of "TABBY" a cement-like mixture that combines oyster shells, water, and sand. Very interesting walking inside these slave quarters.
The 25 buildings housed 60 to 80 enslaved men, women and children.
Behind the 25 slaves quarters was a path that will take us to the Kingsley Plantation. Along the tree-lined path were several different types of little flowers blooming and a delightful journey.
Look at this beautiful well-preserved plantation house. Zephaniah Kingsley and his wife Anna Madgigine Jai, lived on the plantation from 1814 to 1837.
Zephaniah, a successful slave trader, merchant, and planter in Spanish Florida, bought Anna, who was born in Senegal, as a slave in Havana, Cuba, in 1806. She was 13 years old. By the time she turned 18, they were married and had three children. She, however, was still a slave and so were the children. (Slavery is determined by the mother’s status.) Zephaniah freed her and their children in 1811.
The Kingsley Plantation house faces the Fort George River in Jacksonville.
This is the barn where the slaves worked night and day cleaning and preparing cotton for trade.
After exploring around the plantation we are on the road to exit.
Kingsley Plantation
11676 Palmetto Avenue
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
904-251-3537
