Reminders of War at Torreya State Park - Liberty County, Florida

Civil War Earthworks at Torreya State Park

Torreya State Park, located on the Apalachicola River in Liberty County, is best known for its stunning natural scenery and extremely rare trees and plants, but for those interested in Florida's Civil War history, it also holds a hidden treasure.

Located along the trail that leads down the slope from the beautifully restored antebellum Gregory House in the park can be found the earthwork remains of a Confederate fortification. Built to defend the river against invasion attempts by the Union Navy, the battery was one of a series of such fortifications along the river. It is, however, by far the best preserved.

150 years ago the Apalachicola River was a vital avenue of transportation. Paddlewheel steamboats churned up and down the river from Apalachicola, carrying cargo and people as far upriver as the cities of Columbus and Albany,Georgia, located far up its tributaries, the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers.  Apalachicola at the beginning of the Civil War was one of the most important port cities on the Gulf Coast and the river itself provided access to some of the most successful plantations and farms in the South.

Gun Emplacement at Torreya State Park

When Apalachicola was evacuated by the Confederates in 1862, army engineers began to design a series of fortifications to stop Union warships from coming up the river to devastate inland cities and farming districts.

The battery at Torreya State Park once mounted an array of heavy guns and featured artillery emplacements, rifle pits and heavily reinforced magazines. Despite (and possibly because of) the reclamation of the site by the forest in the years after the Civil War, the earthworks remain in remarkable condition today and provide a rare opportunity to step back in time to the days when Florida desperately tried to defend itself from Northern invasion.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/torreyabattery.

Confederate Battery at Torreya State Park

Torreya State Park (located in the northwest corner of Liberty County between Bristol and Chattahoochee) is well known for its rugged scenic beauty. The Florida Torreya, one of the rarest trees in the world, grows in the park, and visitors have enjoyed tours of the antebellum Gregory House for decades.

Often overlooked, however, is the park's role during the Civil War.

The commanding bluffs that now draw visitors in search of challenging hikes and scenic views once attracted Confederate engineers for very different reasons. They were tasked with building fortifications to protect the Apalachicola River from an attack by Union warships. The river served as a gateway to a vast area of Northwest Florida, Southwest Georgia and Southeast Alabama. Its tributaries, the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers, were navigable as far north as Columbus and Albany.

To protect against possible attack, the Confederates build earthwork batteries at Alum Bluff, Ricco's Bluff and the River Narrows, all downstream from Torreya. Another battery was placed up the Chattahoochee at Fort Gaines, Georgia. Troops were also stationed at Fort Gadsden and other locations along the river to provide early warning of a Union attack.

The final battery constructed on the river, and perhaps the most powerful, was the once placed by Confederate engineers at Rock Bluff, now encompassed by Torreya State Park.

Designed for six heavy cannon, the battery consisted of three pairs of two gun emplacements. Positioned below the northern crest of the bluff, which provided protection against a bombardment from down stream, the guns commanded a significant stretch of the Apalachicola from short range.

Today, the cannon are gone but the powerful Confederate earthworks remain. They are located along the nature trail just down the slope from the Gregory House. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/torreyabattery.

The Florida Torreya and Torreya State Park

One of the most remarkable trees in the world grows along the steep bluffs and ravines overlooking the Apalachicola River in Gadsden and Liberty Counties, Florida.

The Florida Torreya was discovered at Alum Bluff during the early 1800s by Hardy Bryan Croom, a noted early botonist. He noticed groves of the unusual tree and became curious when he did not recognize it as a known species. He sent samples to the leading botonists of the era, who determined that he had indeed discovered a new species of tree. Croom named it the Torreya, in honor of Dr. John Torrey, a famed scientist of the era.

Early settlers of the region used the Torreya, which they called the "stinking cedar," for a variety of purposes. It made excellent fence posts and shingles and was also used as fuel to power paddlewheel steamboats on the Apalachicola River. They also developed a legend that it was the "gopher wood" from which Noah built the ark.

During the 20th century, a blight infected the groves of Torreya trees along the Apalachicola River and they were almost wiped from the face of the earth. No adult trees survived and seedlings would die when they reached a certain age. There is a deliberate effort underway now to save the trees through careful plantings and strict preservation.

The best place to see the Torreya tree is at Torreya State Park between Bristol and Chattahoochee. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/torreyastatepark.

The Gregory House at Torreya State Park

A focal point of North Florida's Torreya State Park, the historic Gregory House was built in 1849 by Apalachicola River planter Jason Gregory.

Originally located on the west bank of the river at Ocheesee Bluff, site of one of the state's many ghost towns, the house was the centerpiece of a massive cotton plantation that operated in the rich river bottom fields of Calhoun County.

The house was moved across the river when Torreya State Park was created during the 1930s and now graces one of the highest points in Florida. Beautifully restored, the home is open for tours on a daily basis. The front of the home looks out over the Apalachicola River and because of the height of the bluff on which it now stands provides one of the finest views in the state. Miles of country can be seen stretching off to the western horizon.

Other features at the park include the earthworks of a Confederate artillery battery, hiking trails, picnic areas, campgrounds and some of the rarest trees and plants in America. Included among these are the Florida Torreya, an extremely rare tree that grows almost exclusively along the towering Apalachicola River bluffs of Liberty and Gadsden Counties.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/torreyagregory.