A Guide-Book of Florida and the South for Tourists, Invalids and Emigrants
Text12 miles above green Cove on the left bank is
PICOLATA
Boarding with Mr. T. F. Bridier. This is the station where passengers to St. Augustine land. It is much to be regretted that there is no hotel here, and only poor and insufficient accommodations in the house owned by the stage company. Usually but one line of stages runs to St. Augustine, and they are often densely crowded, and most uncomfortable. A second line was put on in Jan., 1869. The usual fare to St. Augustine is $3.00; distance 18 miles. By competition it has been reduced to $1.00.
FROM PICOLATA TO ST. AUGUSTINE
the road leads through an open pine country with an undergrowth of palmettoes. Here and there a clump of cypress, with a tangled mass of briars and vines around their trunks, diversifies the scene. The soil is miserably poor, and hardly a dozen houses are passed in the whole distance. Deep white sand obstructs the stage, and not so rarely as one wishes the wheels strike a pine or palmetto root with a most unpleasant effect upon the passengers, especially if they are invalids. After 3½ hours of this torture, the stage is checked by the Sebastian river, over which a miserable ferry boat conveys the exhausted tourist who at length finds himself in St. Augustine.
ST. AUGUSTINE
Hotels: Florida House (dear and poor,) Magnolia House, fine piazza (grounds recently fitted up.) About $4.00 per day, slight reduction by the month.
Boarding Houses: Mrs. Abbot, Mrs. Fatio, Mrs. Gardner, Mrs. Brava, Miss Dummitt. Charges, $15.00 to $20.00 per week. As a rule, the tables of the boarding houses are better kept than those of the hotels. Families can rent houses by the month, and sometimes furnished rooms, and thus live much cheaper. Apply to B. E. Carr, J. L. Phillips, or John Long.
Billiard Saloon, at Delot’s Restaurant.
Post Office on the Plaza, mail tri-weekly. Telegraph office near the market house on the Plaza.
Newspaper—St. Augustine Examiner, weekly. Reading Room at the editor’s office, 25 cts. a week.
Drug Store– Dr. J. P. Mackay.
Military Music– On the Plaza every other night.
Churches– Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist chapel opposite the Magnolia House, Colored Baptist.
Bathing-House, on Bay Street, white flag for ladies, red flag for gentlemen, on alternate days. Season ticket $5.00.
Local Histories.– *Fairbanks, The Spaniards in Florida, (1868, the best, published by Columbus Drew, Jacksonville, Fla.); Sewall, Sketches of St. Augustine, 1848, (illustrated); St. Augustine, Florida, by an English visitor, (1869, by Mrs. Yelverton; inaccurate).
St. Augustine (population 1,200 white, 600 black), the oldest settlement in the United States, was founded in 1565, by Pedro Menendez, a Spanish soldier, born in the city of Aviles. The site originally chosen was south of where the city now stands, but the subsequent year (1566) a fort was erected on the present spot. It received its name because Menendez first saw the coast of Florida on St. Augustine’s day.
Little is known of its early history. In 1586 it was burned by Sir Francis Drake; and in 1665, Captain Davis, an English buccaneer, sacked and plundered it without opposition, the inhabitants, numbering at that time a few hundred, probably fleeing to the fort. This building, which had formerly been of logs, was commenced of stone about 1640.
As it was found that the sea was making inroads upon the town, about the end of the seventeenth century, a sea-wall was commenced by the Spanish Governor, Don Diego de Quiroga y Losada, extending from the Fort to the houses, all of which, at that time, were south of the Plaza. The top of this first sea-wall can still be seen in places along Bay street, occupying nearly the middle of the street.
Early in the last century, the English in Carolina, in alliance with the Creek (Muskoki) Indians commenced a series of attacks on the Spanish settlements. In 1702, Governor Moore made a descent on St. Augustine by land and sea, burnt a portion of the town, and destroyed all the plantations in the vicinity. The inhabitants once more fled to the castle, which, we are told, was surrounded by a very deep and broad moat. But the priests had not time to remove the church plate. This, and much other booty, fell into Gov. Moore’s hands – all of which he kept for himself to the great disgust of his companions in arms.
Again, in 1725, Col. Palmer, of Carolina, at the head of 300 whites and Indians attacked and ravaged the Spanish settlements, completely annihilating their field-husbandry, burning the country houses, and forcing the inhabitants of St. Augustine to flee as usual to the castle.
In 1732, Governor Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia, on the Savannah river. Eight years afterwards he made his memorable attack on St. Augustine. At that date the city numbered 2,143 inhabitants, including the garrison (the latter probably about one half the whole number.) The city was intrenched, with salient angles and redoubts, the space enclosed being about half a mile long and quarter of a mile wide. The castle mounted 50 pieces of brass cannon. Its walls were of stone, casemated, with four bastions. The moat was 40 feet wide, and twelve feet deep. Governor Oglethorpe, therefore, undertook a difficult task when he set out in midsummer to besiege a place of this strength. He planted his principal batteries on Anastasia island, where their remains are still distinctly traceable, and bombarded castle and city with considerable vigor for 20 days. He discovered, however, to his mortification, that his shot produced hardly any more effect on the coquina rock of which the walls were built, than on so much sand. After prolonging the siege 38 days, (June 13 – July 20, 1740,) he withdrew.
The exterior of the works was finally completed by Don Alonzo Fernando Hereda, in 1756, since which time no alterations of importance have been made.
St. Augustine, always the capital of the province during the Spanish supremacy, changed hands with the whole peninsula in 1763, 1781, and 1821. It had a temporary prosperity during the first Seminole war, when it was used as a military and naval station. In 1862 the naval force of the United States took possession of it, without resistance, and a garrison of New Hampshire volunteers was stationed there.
A large percentage of the natives show traces of Spanish blood. They are usually embraced under the name “Minorcans.”
In 1767 a speculative Englishman, Dr. Turnbull, brought over a colony of about 1200 Greeks, Italians, Corsicans and Minorcans, and settled near New Smyrna. After a few years, wearied with his tyranny, most of those who survived, – not more in all than 600, – removed to St. Augustine. They were a quiet, somewhat industrious, and ignorant people, and many of their descendants much mixed in blood still live in St. Augustine. Their language is fast dying out. The young people speak only English. The following verse from the Fromajardis, or Easter Song, was written down in 1843. The italic e is the neutral vowel.
“Sant Gabiel
Qui portaba la ambasciado
Dee nostro rey del cel,
Estaran vos prenada
Ya omitiada
Tu o vais aqui surventa
Fia del Dieu contenta
Para fe lo que el vol
Disciarem lu dol
Cantarem aub ’alagria
Y n’arem a da
Las pascuas a Maria,
O Maria.”
I have no doubt but that this is somewhat incorrect, as I am informed that the ordinary language of the old natives is comparatively pure Spanish.
St. Augustine is built on a small Peninsula, between the St. Sebastian River, itself an arm of the sea, and the Bay. Its plan is that of an oblong parallelogram, traversed longitudinally by two principal streets, which are intersected at right angles by cross streets. The Isthmus connecting the Peninsula to the main is on the north, and is strengthened by a stone causeway. The ruins of a suburb, called the North City, are visible near it. Most of the streets are narrow, without sidewalks, and shaded by projecting balconies.
On the east is the harbor, a sheet of water about eight fathoms in depth, known as the Matanzas river. It is separated from the ocean by Anastasia, or Fish Island, a narrow tract of land about fourteen miles long. The inlet is variable in depth, but rarely averages over five feet.
The principal buildings are of Coquina rock. This is a concretion of fragments of shells, of recent formation. It extends along the east coast for about a hundred and fifty miles, in some places rising above the surface level, at others covered with several feet of sand. In one spot, near St. Augustine, it rests upon a peat bog. The quarries are on Anastasia Island, and are worth visiting.
Near the center of the town is the *Plaza, or square. In its midst is an unpretending monument, square at the base, and eighteen feet high, on which is inscribed:
Plaza de la Constitucion.
This was erected in 1812, to commemorate the short-lived constitutional form of government then instituted in Spain.
The building on the west side of the square was the residence of the Spanish Governors. It has been rebuilt and much altered since the purchase of the territory, and is now used for the United States Court. On the opposite side, between the Square and the water, is the Market House.
The building on the north side is the Roman Catholic Church. Its quaint belfry has four bells which ring forth the Angelus thrice daily. One of these has the following inscription:
Sancte Joseph,
Ora pro Nobis
A. D., 1682
This church was commenced in 1793, and doubtless this bell was brought from the previous church, which was on St. George street. In the interior, the ceiling is painted, the floor of concrete, and there are a few pictures, none of note. Many of its attendants are descendants of Spanish and Minorcan families.
Opposite the Roman Catholic, is the Episcopal church, consecrated in 1833.
The oldest building in the city is supposed to be that at the corner of Green Lane and Bay street. A century ago it was the residence of the English attorney general, and was probably built about 1750. It will be observed that the coquina rock does not wear very well.
At the north end of the town, where the causeway (of modern construction) connects with the main land, is the *City Gate, flanked by two square pillars, with Moorish tops. On either side a dry ditch, and the remains of a wall, mark the fortified limits of the city.
At the southern extremity of the peninsula are the Barracks, built on the foundations of the ancient Franciscan convent. From their top a fine view of the town can be obtained. In the rear of the main building is a Cemetery where the victims of “Dade’s Massacre,” during the 1st Seminole war, were buried, and other members of the U. S. forces.
Still further south are the United States Arsenal and the remains of an ancient breastwork.
The whole east front of the town for more than a mile is occupied by the *sea wall. It was built by the United States (1837-1843) to prevent the encroachment of the waves. The material is coquina stone topped by granite. It is wide enough for two persons to walk abreast upon it, and it is a favorite evening promenade. It encloses two handsome basins, with steps leading to the water.
Fort Marion, or, as it was formerly called, the castle of San Marco, occupies a commanding position on the north of the city. It is considered a fine specimen of military architecture, having been constructed on the principles laid down by the famous engineer Vauban. No fees are required for visitors. The walls are 21 feet high, with bastions at each corner, the whole structure being in the form of a trapezium, and enclosing an area about sixty yds. square. The main entrance is by a drawbridge. Over this is sculptured on a block of stone the Spanish coat of arms, surmounted by the globe and cross, with a Maltese cross and lamb beneath. Immediately under the arms is this inscription:
Reynando en Espana el Senr Don Fernando Sexto y siendo Govor. y Capn. de esa. Cd. San. Augn. de La Florida y sus Prova. el Mariscal de campos Don Alonzo Ferndo. Hereda Asi concluio este Castillo el an OD. 1756. Dirigiendo las obras el Cap Ingnro. Dn. Pedro de Brozas y Garay
“Don Ferdinand VI. being king of Spain, the field marshal, Don Alonzo Fernando Hereda, governor and captain of this city of San Augustin de la Florida and its provinces, finished this castle in the year 1756, the captain of engineers Don Pedro de Brozas y Garay superintending the work.”
From the space in the interior, doors lead to the casemates. Opposite the entrance, in the northern casemate, is the apartment which was formerly used as a chapel. The altar stone is still preserved. In another apartment, the small window is pointed out through which Coacoochee, a distinguished Seminole chieftain, made his escape in the first Seminole war. Under the north east bastion there are subterranean cells, probably used for confining prisoners, in one of which a human skeleton is said to have been found. The curtain on the east side of the fort, still shows the marks of Oglethorpe’s cannon balls.
The vicinity of St. Augustine is uninteresting. A pleasant drive can be taken through the town and along the east bank of the Sebastian river. A sail along Matanzas river has some attractions. Several good sail boats can be hired, some accommodating twenty or twenty-five persons, price $5.00 a day. A few miles south of the city an elevated spot marks the remains of General Moultrie’s (of revolutionary fame) residence. At the southern extremity of Anastasia island the ruins of a Spanish look-out are visible. Rock island, on the north shore of the inlet near this point, has a remarkable Indian mound.
Curlews and snipes afford some good sport along the strand, and in the winter, a brace or two of ducks can always be bagged on Anastasia island, but their flavor is not attractive.
The nearest orange grove is that of Dr. Anderson, on the west side of the town. In going thither, the path should be chosen leading through the pleasant orange walk on the grounds of Mr. Buckingham Smith.
The chief local industry at St. Augustine is the *palmetto work. Hats, baskets, and boxes are very tastefully plaited from the sun-dried leaves of the low variety of that plant. Specimens of this handwork make pleasant mementoes of a visit to this ancient city.
I now return to Picolata on the St. John. About a mile north of the landing, on the bank of the river, lived Col. John Lee Williams, the author of “The Natural and Civil History of Florida,” and “View of West Florida,” and in many ways conspicuous in the early history of the State. He died in 1857, and was buried in his own garden. I had the melancholy satisfaction of visiting his grave the day after his burial, having reached Picolata without learning his death. I was told that the river here had materially altered its course within the memory of those now living. I am certainly unable to account in any other way for the total disappearance of the Spanish fort which, a century ago, existed here. The traveller Bartram describes it as built of coquina stone brought from Anastasia island. The main work, a square tower, thirty feet high, with battlements allowing two guns on each side, was surrounded by a high wall, pierced with loop-holes and a deep exterior ditch. Even at that time he speaks of it as “very ancient.”
On the opposite bank of the river was the fort of St. Francis de Poppa. Its earthworks are still visible, about one mile north of the landing. From St. Francis de Poppa the old Spanish road led across the province to St. Marks on the Gulf. Two small Sulphur Springs are found a short distance from the Picolata landing.
Fifteen miles above Picolata the steamer stops on the right (west) bank at
PALATKA
Hotels.– Putnam House, St. John’s House, charges, $3.50 per day. The Palatka hotels are tolerable, but not so good as those of Jacksonville. Several boarding houses. A large hotel is projected.
This was originally a military post in the Indian war of 1836-’40. The town is built on a sand bluff ten to fifteen feet above the river, a few inches of shells forming the surface soil. There are 800 or 1,000 inhabitants, principally engaged in orange culture and lumbering. Several beautiful orange groves are in the vicinity, and constitute the only attraction of the place. The streets are sandy, and walking is difficult. Steamboats run from here direct to Charleston and Savannah, and also to the lakes of Marion and Alachua counties and up the Oklawaha river to Lake Griffin. A mail stage runs to Tampa.
Above Palatka the river narrows, and the banks become as a rule lower and more swampy. At a point twelve miles above, on the left (east) bank, Buffalo bluff meets the river, a ridge of loose sandrock surmounted by a stratum of shells from six to ten feet in thickness. Five miles beyond, on the same side, is Horse Landing, where a shell and sand mound rises abruptly about eight feet from the water. This has been carefully examined by Prof. Jeffries Wyman, and pronounced to have been built by the ancient possessors of the land. About eighteen miles above Palatka, on the east bank, is the small town of
WELAKA
Large boarding houses were here before the war but were destroyed. A capacious hotel is in process of erection. Three large sulphur springs are in the immediate vicinity, which could doubtless be applied to sanitary purposes. The soil is good, and well adapted to oranges. Eight miles east of Welaka is *Dunn’s Lake, a beautiful sheet of water twelve miles long and three wide, abundantly stocked with fish. Its shores abound in game, and many rich plantations are on and near it. The soil is unsurpassed by any in Florida, and has always borne a high reputation.
Opposite Welaka, the Oklawaha empties into the St. John. The latter river at this point is about 500 yards wide. Half a mile above, it expands to a width of three miles. This is called Little Lake George. Fort Gates landing is at its southern extremity. Twelve miles above Welaka is Lake George proper, a sheet of water about eighteen miles in length, and ten in width. At its southern end a large and fertile island (about 1900 acres), shuts off the view. It is called Rembrandt’s, or Drayton’s Island. According to Bartram, there should be remarkable monuments of the aborigines, mounds, earthworks, and artificial lakes, on this island. The channel lies to its east, and is quite narrow. At the extremity of this entrance there is a landing on the eastern shore, known as Sam’s landing, or Lake George landing. A post office was located here.
Several remarkable mineral springs are around this lake, especially on the western shore. It is an unsafe sea for boats, being exposed to sudden and violent winds.
A mile or two from the western shore, the ground rises into high sand-hills, covered with a dense growth of spruce-pine and blackjack oak. This is the “Eteniah scrub,” which divides the St. John from the Oklawaha, and extends for many miles southwardly. It is a dry and hopeless barren. Sixty-five miles above Palatka, and four miles above the southern entrance of Lake George, on the left (east) bank of the river, is the old settlement of
VOLUSIA
Good boarding-house by Dr. Langren – price moderate. Little is now seen from the river but a few ruinous houses and the marks of a once extended cultivation in overgrown “old fields,” but the place has a history worth recording.
Soon after the cession of the county to the English crown in 1763, Mr. Denison Rolles, a gentleman of wealth, actuated, it would appear, by a spirit of philanthropy, proposed to transport large numbers of the unfortunate women of the London street to this new country, and there give them a chance to lead a better life. With this object he obtained a grant of 40,000 acres, and located it in this portion of Florida. The manor was called Charlottia, from the queen. Several hundred acres were cleared, a large mansion house erected, a handsome avenue laid out, which was to reach to St. Augustine, and colonists to the number of three hundred brought across. But, as so often happens, unexpected obstacles arose. Supplies failed to come in time, fevers carried off many, the proprietor was accused of parsimony, and finally the settlement broke up, and those who survived went to Carolina and Georgia.
At this point the river is quite narrow, and both banks are occupied by fresh-water shell-bluffs, of artificial origin. On that opposite Volusia stands Fort Butler, a place of some note in the Indian wars. Four miles above Volusia, is Dexter’s Lake, (ten miles long.) It is a famous resort for wild fowls in the fall and winter. It is surrounded by extensive marshes, cypress groves, and hammocks.
A few miles above Lake Dexter the steamer stops at the small place now called Hawkinsville, but which formerly bore the much more euphonious name of the brave Seminole warrior, Osceola, (corruption of asse heholar, sun rising). On the left bank, six miles above, is the remarkable
BLUE SPRING
This is a landing, with post office, but has no hotel. One is (of course) in contemplation. The *spring is a large and beautiful fountain of crystal clear water. It forms a basin one-fourth of a mile long, twenty-five to thirty yards wide, and ten to twenty feet deep. The water is slightly sulphurous and thermal, the temperature reaching, at times, 75 degrees Fahr. This spot was called by the English, Berrisford, and was the most southern settlement made by them while in possession of the country.
Hunting and fishing in this vicinity are remarkably fine. The back country is fertile, and some magnificent orange groves are under cultivation.
The river now narrows to a width of fifty or sixty yds. Meadows of tall grass and maiden-cane, interspersed with clumps of lofty and graceful palms diversify the scene. Through these the stream winds its tortuous channel for thirty miles. At length the steamboat reaches its destination at
ENTERPRISE,
On Lake Monroe. *Brock House, kept by Mr. J. Brock, the proprietor of the line of steamers – $3.50 per day. Several boarding-houses in the pine woods near *Watson’s.
Several high shell mounds rise on the east shore of the lake, on one of which the hotel stands. Half a mile south of it is a large sulphur spring of unusual strength, with a basin twenty-five yards in diameter. About 150 yards beyond it is a second sulphur spring of less extent, and near by, also, a source of saline waters. (As yet no provisions are made for the application of their waters to medicinal purposes).
Beyond the springs, a hill of sand and shells rises some thirty or forty feet, surmounted by an old frame building. A luxuriant sweet orange grove extends along the shore, bearing the finest fruit I ever tasted in Florida.
The medicinal waters, the rich fruit, the charming lake, the near pine woods, and the attractive hunting and fishing at this spot, render it one of the most eligible for a large sanitary establishment. But its position should not be directly on the beach, where the dazzling sand tries the eyes, and the evening dampness is painfully felt.
Across Lake Monroe, is Fort Mellon, long used as a Government store-house, and the terminus of one of the military roads which connect with the interior of the country.
Fragments of bog iron ore, and oolitic limestone, are picked up on the shore.
A small steamboat runs about once a week from Enterprise to Lake Harney (thirty miles). The channel is narrow and crooked, running through broad, grassy savannahs and hammocks. The first bluff above Lake Monroe is called Leneer’s. It is on the left bank.
Occasional trips are made to Salt Lake, thirty miles above Lake Harney. Its waters are brackish, rather, I think, from its contiguity to the sea, than from any salt springs. It is only seven miles from Indian river lagoon. Probably this is the only example in the world of a large river, at a distance of nearly 300 miles from its mouth, flowing within seven miles of the ocean into which it empties. When the water is high, small steamers and row-boats have passed beyond Salt Lake, sixty miles to Lake Washington. No settlements are on the river, however, higher up than Lake Harney.
The source of the St. John is unknown. Its head waters probably lose themselves in vast marshes, from which flow sluggish streams northward to it, southward into Lake Okeechobee, and westward into the Kissimmee river. The determination of this geographical point would be interesting, though perhaps of no great practical value. Yet, one cannot help feeling astonished that the sources of this river, on which the first colony north of Mexico was founded, which traverses the oldest settled State of our Union, and which has been alternately possessed by three powerful nations, are more completely unknown and unexplored than those of the Nile or the Niger.
NEW SMYRNA
This small settlement of half a dozen houses, is on Musquito lagoon, or Halifax river. It is reached by a rather rough-traveling weekly stage from Enterprise, for the immoderate sum of $8.00 a head. Board can be obtained of Mrs. Sheldon. New Symrna was laid out by Dr. Turnbull, during the English occupancy of Florida, and hither he brought his colony of Greeks, Minorcans, and Italians, as I have previously related. The marks of their faithful industry are still discernible. Turtle Mound, on the west bank of the Lagoon, near the town, is one of the most remarkable shell-mounds, or “Kitchen-middens” in Florida. I have described it in my “Notes on the Floridian Peninsula,” page 178. There are a number of other equally curious remains of a similar character in the vicinity.
A hundred years ago nearly the whole of the bluff along the river, about half a mile wide, and nearly forty in length, was one vast orange grove.
A mail boat leaves here for Indian river every second week.
INDIAN RIVER
Persons wishing to visit Indian river for camp hunting, should hire an open boat, guide, and tent, (if the latter is deemed necessary), at Jacksonville, and bring them to Enterprise on the steamer. From that point they can row to Lake Harney in two days, where the boat and tent can be carried across to Sand Point, on Indian river, on an ox team. Col. H. F. Titus has a store and dwelling at Sand Point, and accommodates tourists either with his team or his table. The distance from the Point to Enterprise is forty miles; to Lake Harney twenty-two miles, and to Salt Lake seven miles. A hack sometimes runs to Lake Harney during the winter season (fare $4.00), which delivers the mail at the Point.
Indian river is properly a lagoon, or arm of the sea. Its waters contain about two-thirds as much salt as those of the ocean. In width it varies from one to four miles. Its western shore is marshy, with hammocks. About half a mile from the water runs a ridge, averaging half a mile across, covered with pines, oak, and palmettos. At places this ridge approaches to the water’s edge, and offers first-class camping grounds. It varies in height, one point having been determined at fifty-two feet above tide level by the United States coast survey. That portion known as the Indian Garden, is about forty feet high, and was formerly thoroughly cultivated by the natives and the Spaniards. All the ridge could readily be made extremely productive. The oranges of Indian river are equal to the best brought from Havana. A single orchard is said to return to its owner not less than $20,000 a year.
Here again the difficulty of access meets one. The Fort Pierce channel, the deepest of the outlets of Indian river, has but six or seven feet of water at high tide, and it is so filled with sand and oyster shells that navigation is difficult for vessels drawing over three feet.
SANTA LUCIE,
One hundred miles below Sand Point, is near the outlet. The intervening shore is very thinly scattered with settlers, but abounds in unequalled hunting and fishing. Santa Lucie is the county seat of Brevard county. It boasts a post office, store, and two or three houses. Mr. Frank Smith is postmaster, and cheerfully gives information or furnishes accommodation to the few tourists who wander thus far from civilized life.
SANTA LUCIE RIVER
Commences twenty miles further south. It, too, is a salt water lagoon. Formerly a water connection existed between this and Indian river, but now it is closed. Santa Lucie river is principally famous for the numbers, size, and flavor of its turtles. Fort Capron is on its west side. At this point there is a post office, kept by Captain James Payne, who will give any information wished for about the locality.
The mail along this coast is carried from St. Augustine to Jupiter Inlet in boats, and thence ninety miles along the beach to Miami on Key Biscayne Bay by a man on foot. For the whole of this latter distance there is but one house, and no fresh water is to be had for a horse. The messenger is allowed four days for his journey. From Miami, which I shall speak of in a subsequent route, the letters are carried to Key West by schooner.