Pinellas Point Temple Mound - St. Petersburg, Florida

Surrounded by housing developments and modern streets, the Pinellas Point Temple Mound in St. Petersburg is a remarkable archaeological site.

Built during the Mississippian era (A.D. 900 - A.D. 1500) by Indians known to the Spanish as the Tocobaga, the large mound rises on the south shore of the St. Petersburg Peninsula and overlooks Tampa Bay. The mound was likely occupied at the time of the Spanish arrival in the Tampa Bay area during the 1500s and may have been the ceremonial center of one of the villages noted by the chroniclers of the Panfilo de Narvaez and Hernando de Soto expeditions.

In fact, local tradition holds that the Pinellas Point Mound was the site where Princess Hirrihigua saved the life of Juan Ortiz, a member of an expedition sent to Tampa Bay in search of the missing Narvaez by his worried wife. Captured by warriors, Ortiz was on the verge of execution when the daughter of a chief intervened on his behalf. Some scholars believe the story may have been the actual foundation for the later account of Pocahontas saving the life of Captain John Smith in Virginia.

Regardless of the accuracy of the legend, the Pinellas Point Temple Mound is an important relic of the days when the site of modern St. Petersburg was the center of an important Native American chiefdom.

To learn more about the mound and to see additional photos, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/pinellaspoint.

Fort De Soto, Florida

Located on Mullet Key near St. Petersburg and at the entrance to Tampa Bay are the remains of a unique system of harbor defenses originally built to protect the area from Spanish attack during the Spanish-American War.

Tampa during the 1890s was a major port for the smuggling of weapons and other supplies to revolutionaries in Cuba. When the United States declared war on Spain, fears grew that the Spanish might target the Florida city. As a result, the U.S. Government authorized the construction of a series of powerful concrete artillery batteries to defend the important port.

Armed with modern (for the time) rapid fire artillery and mortars that could fire shells weighing more than 1,000 pounds, Fort De Soto and Fort Dade were still under construction when the war ended, but eventually became important U.S. Army posts. Already obsolete by the end of World War I, they were evacuated by the army during the 1920s.

Fort Dade, located on Egmont Key, eventually collapsed into the surf, as did one of the two batteries at Fort De Soto. The second battery, however, has been carefully preserved by Pinellas County and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

Easily accessible by car from St. Petersburg, the historic fort is the centerpiece of beautiful Fort De Soto Park, which also offers nature trails, camping, boat ramps, picnic areas and what has recently been named as one of the Top Ten Best Beaches in the United States. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortdesoto1.

Scott's Massacre of 1817

On November 30, 1817, one of the most critical battles of the Seminole Wars took place on the Apalachicola River at present-day Chattahoochee, Florida.

A large U.S. Army boat was making its way up the river under the command of Lieutenant R.W. Scott of the 7th U.S. Infantry Regiment. On board were 40 soldiers, roughly 20 of whom were severely ill with fever, 7 women (wives of soldiers) and four children. They were en route to Fort Scott, a U.S. post on the lower Flint River in what is now Decatur County, Georgia, but did not know that war had opened between the United States and an alliance of Seminole and Creek warriors.

On November 21 and 23, 1817, U.S. troops had attacked the Creek village of Fowltown near present-day Bainbridge, Georgia, in an effort to drive its inhabitants from lands claimed by the United States following the Treaty of Fort Jackson. The Indians in the "Big Bend" region of Florida viewed the attacks as unprovoked and unwarranted. They were outraged and several hundred moved to the Apalachicola River where they planned to cut off the shipment of supplies by boats up to Fort Scott, the post from which the Fowltown attacks had been launched.

The warriors took up a position on the east bank of the Apalachicola River just south of today's Chattahoochee Landing. The actual site has been washed away by the river, but its general vicinity can be viewed from the dock at the nearby landing.

When Scott's boat rounded a sharp bend of the river, the current forced he and his men to navigate close to the shore. The warriors opened fire, killing or disabling the lieutenant and most of his able-bodied soldiers with their first volley. They then waded into the river and stormed the boat, killing most of the others with war clubs, hatchets and knives. By the time the brief fight was over, Lieutenant Scott and 34 of his men were dead, along with 6 of the women and all four children. Seminole and Creek losses are not known.

Six soldiers, four of them wounded, escaped the boat by leaping overboard and swimming away underwater to the opposite bank. They made their way to Fort Scott on foot with news of the disaster. The other survivor, Elizabeth Stewart, was taken prisoner and held in slavery until she was freed the following spring by troops under Andrew Jackson.

The attack was a great victory for the warriors, but proved a disaster for them on a larger scale. When news of the slaughter reached Washington, D.C., authorities ordered Major General Andrew Jackson to the frontier. Jackson invaded Spanish Florida, destroyed major Seminole and Creek towns, captured St. Marks and Pensacola and destroyed the power of the northern branch of the Seminole Nation.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/scottsmassacre1.

Wakulla Springs State Park - Wakulla Springs, Florida

One of the most popular places in the Tallahassee area this time of year is Wakulla Springs State Park.

Located just south of the capital city, the park encompasses thousands of acres of fragile wilderness and protects one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world. Divers using special equipment have explored the caves that open in the spring for miles and have descended to depths of over 300 feet.

The Wakulla Springs basin is rich in history. Evidence of prehistoric Native American hunters has been found here and divers have retrieved the bones of prehistoric animals, including mastodons, from the bottom of the spring. Other bones, in fact, can still be seen lying on the bottom 80-feet down from the glass-bottomed boats operated by the park service.

The Creek Prophet, Josiah Francis, established a village on the Wakulla River downstream from the springs after he fled Alabama at the end of the Creek War of 1813-1814. It was here that his daughter, Milly Francis, rescued a captured Georgia militiaman and became known as the Creek Pocahontas.

The land around the spring was purchased in 1934 by Florida industrialist Edward Ball, who saved it from development for decades. Ball built the historic Wakulla Springs Lodge in 1937 and zealously protected the property from unauthorized intrusion. Wakulla Springs is now a state park and is open to the public daily. The historic lodge offers dining and overnight stays and the park features glass-bottomed boats, river cruises, swimming, nature trails, picnic areas and much more.

To learn more about historic Wakulla Springs, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/wakullasprings.

St. Augustine, Florida #8 - Imprisonment of Osceola

The story of the great Seminole warrior Osceola is not as much a part of our nation's memory as it used to be, but it can still be explored in St. Augustine.

School kids across the country once learned the story of Osceola and the great war for survival waged by the Seminoles between 1835 and 1844. The Second Seminole War was waged from the Okefenokee Swamp south to the Everglades and from Walton County in Northwest Florida east to the Atlantic Ocean. In the end, despite repeated announcements of victory by the U.S. Army, the Seminoles of Florida clung to at least part of their lands.

Although he was not a chief, Osceola was recognized by both whites and Indians as one of the key war leaders of the conflict. The Creek and Seminole cultures had always allowed for warriors to rise to positions of distinction based on their prowess in battle, and Osceola was by all accounts a charismatic and competent leader in battle.

Frustrated by their attempts to capture or kill him, U.S. Army officers laid a trap for Osceola near St. Augustine on October 21, 1837. He appeared under a white flag to negotiate with the government, but was seized despite the protection of this flag by order of General Thomas S. Jesup.

Carried to St. Augustine, Osceola was initially imprisoned at the Castillo de San Marcos. He remained there until several other prisoners escaped one night. Concerned that he might repeat the feat engineered by the other Seminoles, the army moved Osceola to Fort Moultrie in South Carolina. He died there of sickness a short time later.

The story of the warrior's imprisonment in St. Augustine is interpreted today at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustineosceola.

St. Augustine, Florida #7 - Ghost Hunting

Looking for ghosts has turned into big business in the nation's oldest city. St. Augustine, in fact, may have more alleged ghosts per block than any city in America.

Probably the best known haunting in the old city involves the St. Augustine Lighthouse. On July 10, 1873, a tragic accident took place during the construction of the lighthouse. Five children were riding a cable car of sorts that was used by workers to move construction materials from the beach up to the work site. Something went terribly wrong and and the children were flung into the water. Although two were rescued, three little girls died. It is said that their spirits still haunt the lighthouse, along with several other ghosts.

There are many other alleged ghosts in St. Augustine. The grounds of Fountain of Youth Park are said to be haunted by the spirits of early Native Americans. A Spanish soldier has been seen walking about the Castillo de San Marcos after dark. A lonely women is sometimes spotted at the Old City Gates. Warden Castle, now the home of Ripley's Believe it or Not, is said to be haunted by a murder victim. And there are many others scattered throughout the old city.

Numerous tour operators offer nightly ghost tours. Some are done by tram, others involve walking to some of St. Augustine's most famous haunted spots. To learn more about the ghosts of St. Augustine, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustineghost.

St. Augustine, Florida #6 - Historic District

The St. Augustine Historic District is one of the most remarkable heritage destinations in Florida.

Stretching out for blocks in three directions from the city's Plaza de la Constitucion, the district includes a massive collection of colonial structures. Although St. Augustine dates back to 1565, it took on its current appearance following a devastating attack by English forces under Governor James Moore of South Carolina in 1702. Moore tried unsuccessfully for 52 days to batter his way into the Castillo de San Marcos. When he finally admitted that he was unable to do so, he retaliated by burning the civilian areas of the city to the ground.

The citizens rebuilt on the ashes, creating the city that visitors see today. Because so much damage from Moore's attack resulted from the fact that most of St. Augustine's early homes were built of wood, the citizens rebuilt using masonry. Coquina rock was quarried from nearby Anastasia Island and other location and use to build almost fireproof floors and walls. As a result, numerous structures in the city dating from the early 1700s survive to this day.

When St. Augustine passed into British hands after the French and Indian War, English settlers added wooden second floors to many of the old Spanish homes and buildings. Many of these second stories can still be seen today, including at the Nation's Oldest House.

A favorite part of the district is the section that lines St. George Street, where entire blocks have been either restored or reconstructed. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustinedistrict.

St. Augustine, Florida #5 - Plaza de la Constitucion

I was watching the History Channel the other day and noticed that a New England state claims to be the home of the oldest public park in the United States. I have never really understood why much of the rest of the country seems to forget that St. Augustine, Florida, was settled 55 years before the first Pilgrim waded ashore at Plymouth Rock.

In fact, the oldest public park in the United States is not in the Northeast. It is the Plaza de la Constitucion in downtown St. Augustine.

This beautiful tree shaded park was established by Spanish Royal Ordinances in 1573, just eight years after St. Augustine was founded and 47 years before settlers arrived in New England. The ordinances required that the plaza be established for public uses in the center of the city, oriented to the principal compass points with a length equal to one and one-half times its width. It maintains these coordiantes to these days.

The Spanish officials and citizens of St. Augustine built many of the public structures of the city so that they would face the plaza. Among those still standing are the restored Goverment House, built in 1706-1713, and the magnificent Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, a National Historic Landmark built in 1793-1797.

The cannon seen today on the Plaza de le Constiticion were once part of the armament of the nearby Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine's massive Spanish fort. The plaza also includes the only public memorial in the United States to a foreign constitution. It honors, in part, a Spanish constitution enacted when Florida was still a Spanish colony.

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

St. Augustine, Florida #4 - St. Augustine Lighthouse

I am convinced that the most spectacular view anywhere on the Atlantic Coast is the one from the top of the historic St. Augustine Lighthouse.

The beautiful old tower was completed in 1874 to replace lighthouses that had stood near its site since shortly after St. Augustine was founded in 1565. It soars high above the Atlantic Ocean and Matanzas Bay and provides a stunning view of the nation's oldest city.

The lighthouse was maintained by keepers who lived in a cottage on the grounds until 1955, when the light was automated. Over the years that followed, the lighthouse and adjacent structures deteriorated badly without the daily care that the keeper and his assistants once provided. The sad state of the historic structure touched the hearts of many local residents and a drive to restore and preserve the lighthouse soon began under the auspices of the Junior Service League of St. Augustine.

It took eleven years of work and fundraising, but the League finally achieved its goal of saving and restoring the beautiful old lighthouse. It is now operated as a historic site and is open daily for self-guided tours (as long as lightning isn't in the area!). The former Keeper's Cottage features outstanding historical exhibits on the lighthouse and surrounding area and the gift shop offers a wide assortment of lighthouse memorabilia.

And if you like good ghost stories, the St. Augustine Lighthouse is one of the nation's most famous "haunted" locations. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/staugustinelighthouse.

St. Augustine, Florida #3 - Fort Matanzas National Monument

Returning now to our tour of beautiful and historic St. Augustine, Florida, one of my favorite points of interest there is Fort Matanzas National Monument.

Located on Highway A1A about 15 miles south of downtown St. Augustine, the national park preserves two sites of critical importance to Florida history. It was somewhere in this vicinity that in 1565, Spanish soldiers under Pedro Menendez de Aviles found shipwrecked French sailors and soldiers. Menendez had just returned from his destruction of the French settlement of Fort Caroline, at today's Jacksonville, and was on the hunt for Jean Ribault and his followers who had left the fort before the attack.

Menendez captured them in two groups at what is now Matanzas Inlet. Those who refused to convert to the Catholic faith (the French were Protestants), he put to the sword. Of the first group of 127 prisoners, 111 were killed on the sands of Matanzas. The name in Spanish, in fact, means "slaughter" or "killings."

Because Matanzas Inlet provided water access to St. Augustine, it was a dangerous "back door" to the city in times of war. To protect against attack via this route, the Spanish began construction of Fort Matanzas in 1740. Designed to work in conjunction with the Castillo de San Marcos to defend the water approaches to the city, it was a massive masonry tower. Constructed of local coquina rock, the fort measures 50 feet on each side and rises 30 feet above the surrounding marshes. It originally mounted five cannon, the largest of with was an 18-pounder.

The fort was attacked only once, by British forces under General James Oglethorpe in 1742, but a single shot from one of the Spanish cannon forced the attackers to withdraw.

Beautifully restored, the fort is now the centerpiece of Fort Matanzas National Monument. The main parking lot, nature trails and visitor center can be accessed by car via Highway A1A. The fort itself stands on Rattlesnake Island, but the National Park Service operates large tour boats to ferry visitors across to the fort. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/fortmatanzas1.

West Gadsden Open House set for July 4th!

If you are in North Florida and looking for something of historical interest to do tomorrow, you might consider the West Gadsden Historical Society's outstanding Annual Open House in Greensboro (west of Tallahassee off Interstate 10). Here is the society's press release:


On July 4, the West Gadsden Historical Society will host its 5th Annual Open House at its headquarters, the historic James A. Dezell House, located at the corner of E. 8th Street & Bristol Hwy. (State Rd. 12). Activities will be at 8:00 a.m. and continue until 3:00 p.m. Throughout the day the Society members will have a bake sale as well as hot boiled peanuts and soft drinks. In addition, note cards featuring various local scenes, t-shirts, the Society’s cookbook, as well as local history books by Dale Cox and Kay Davis Lay will be for sale. Dale’s book is The Early History of Gadsden County and Kay’s book, Something Gold, is a compilation of numerous interviews regarding the shade tobacco era in Gadsden County .

Various exhibits will include several local crafts persons who will have their wares on display and for sale. Buddy Pitts will show his collection of photographs from days of long ago in and around Greensboro . Kenneth Edwards will have a display featuring the McLane Family Massacre which took place April 23, 1840 only a few miles southwest of Greensboro . Kenneth, great-great-great grandson of the sole survivor John Kenzie McLane, will be showing historic family documents, photographs, relics, and other items of interest. Many descendants of John K. McLane live in Gadsden and the surrounding counties.

The annual quilt show will feature quilts made by the Peace Makers Quilters of the First Baptist Church in Greensboro . The group has generously donated a beautiful handmade full/queen size quilt which will be given to a lucky person. Tickets are $3.00 each and may be purchased at the following locations: Twin City News and Dr. Melzer’s office in Chattahoochee; Ivy Shop, A Touch of Tiffany, Mane Attraction, Padgett’s Jewelers, Flossie’s Cut & Curl, and Premier Bank in Quincy . The drawing will be held at 8:00 p.m. at the Greensboro Fireworks Celebration. You do not have to be present to win.

Coastal Seafood Restaurant in Panacea will be returning to sell delicious seafood lunches. Come join us on July 4 at our Open House and enjoy some down home time together with your friends and neighbors. Your support will be greatly appreciated.