I first visited the Theodore Roosevelt area of the Timucuan Preserve back in 1999. My dog Brodie and I would walk through the preserve, discovering the many trails. I enjoyed the sights of the landscape while I’m sure Brodie enjoyed all the smells. We visited the preserve many times over the next 13 years, mostly during the late fall, winter and early spring months. I haven’t been back since Brodie passed, but I’m sure I’ll make it back again.
Sincerely,
Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve
Just outside of downtown Jacksonville, this preserve protects 46,000 acres of wetlands, hardwood forests, and coastal dunes along with historic sites and relics from 6,000 years of human habitation. The site is named for and helps preserve the history of the 35 Native American chiefdoms that lived in the region and spoke the Timucua language. The site also contains the remains of a plantation with slave cabins, helping researchers better understand the culture and daily lives of the enslaved people who toiled there. The park also includes a historic beach founded during the Jim Crow era by Florida’s first African-American millionaire, a 1920s-era golf course, and a memorial to France's failed New World colony.
State(s): Florida
Established: 1988
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