Fort George Island Historical Marker

Fort George Island in St. Augustine, Florida, is a historic location with the first records of humans in the area dating back 5,000 years. Originally, it was called “Alicamani” by the Timucuan Indians (Native Americans) who initially inhabited the area. Sites similar to landfills called “shell middens” represent the people who once lived there. The midden on Fort George Island is one of 34 designated archeological sites on the island, and contains 4,000-year-old Orange Period Pottery, oyster shells, bone pieces, and discarded tools. In 1562, French explorer Jean Ribault arrived nearby with a group of French Huguenots. The Protestant Huguenots were fleeing religious and political persecution from a war that began in France and lasted decades, killing thousands of Huguenots in the process. However, when Ribault returned to France to gather supplies and learned of the increasing tensions, he was imprisoned for building a fort on Spanish territory in South Carolina.

It was not until 1564 that Fort Caroline was established on Fort George Island for the Huguenots by Rene Laudonniere, but the fort only lasted a year. In 1565, after colonists began to lose faith in Laudonniere and stole ships, Ribault returned to rescue the fort. However, he shipwrecked near St. Augustine, and Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles killed most of the French who had their boats destroyed before attacking Fort Caroline, finally bringing it to an end. In 1570, a Spanish mission was then established in the area. Created by the Franciscan Order of friars, San Juan del Puerto was meant to convert Native American Timucuans to Catholicism. At the mission, they were also taught to read and write both in Timucuan and Spanish, and often held a variety of jobs.

In the 1730s, “San Juan” was renamed “Saint George” by Georgia Governor James Oglethorpe. In 1736, he built Fort George during a British invasion of Spanish territory in Florida, and used the fort as defense for the southern flank of Georgia. After the American Revolution, Fort George Island reverted to Spanish control in a time referred to as the 2nd Spanish Period, from 1783-1821. During that time, the island passed to three different owners: Don Juan McQueen, who fled tax collectors in Georgia and swore allegiance to Spain while in Florida, John Houstoun McIntosh, who became Governor of the Republic of Florida in 1812, and Zephaniah Kingsley, who owned the Kingsley Plantation. The island lasted as a home to Sea Island cotton and indigo plantations until the ending of slave labor during the Civil War made it unprofitable.

After the Civil War, John F. Rollins owned Fort George Island, and in 1869, remodeled the main house of Kingsley Plantation into his main residence, which he called the “Homestead.” While on the island, Rollins made it a popular tourist attraction. As postmaster, he moved the post office nearby to Batten Island to enhance St. Johns River traffic. Additionally, he created the Fort George Island Hotel in 1875. In 1881, the population had increased enough to require the construction of St. George’s Episcopal Church. Tourism decreased in 1890 due to the extension of a railroad along Florida’s east coast, the yellow fever epidemic, and a fire of the hotel, but another addition soon made tourism boom once again.

In the 1920s, the Ribault Club was built. It was advertised as a “playground” for wealthy northerners from areas such as Jacksonville. There, rich and elite flocked for the golf and tennis courts, lawn bowling, and yacht basin overlooking the river. Two clubs also opened on the island, and New York millionaire August Heckscher brought automobiles to Fort George Island with the construction of the road Heckscher Drive. After World War II, parts of the island were transformed into a state park, continuing the tourism business. In 1976, the Jacksonville Historical Society and the Department of State erected a marker to commemorate the island’s long history.

1. Stroud, Mike. Fort George Island, Historical Marker Database. August 1st 2017. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=58377.
2. A Walk Through the History of Fort George Island, National Park Service. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/fgitimeline.htm.
3. Jean Ribault Claims Florida for France, Exploring Florida. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/ribault/ribault1.htm.
4. Fort George Island Cultural State Park, City of Jacksonville. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.coj.net/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-and-community-programming/parks/fort-george-island-state-cultural-site.
5. Ribault Clubhouse, Florida State Parks. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-george-island-cultural-state-park/history.
6. Talbot Islands State Parks , Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Saturiwa_Trail_Brochure2.pdf.
7. Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve | FORT GEORGE ISLAND, National Park Planner. December 26th 2019. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://npplan.com/parks-by-state/florida-national-parks/timucuan-ecological-and-historic-preserve-park-at-a-glance/timucuan-ecological-and-historic-preserve-fort-george-island/.
8. Don Juan McQueen papers, Georgia Historical Society. Accessed October 5th 2020. http://ghs.galileo.usg.edu/ghs/view?docId=ead/MS%201786-ead.xml.
9. John Houstoun McIntosh Historical Marker, Waymarking. June 27th 2007. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm1QY6_John_Houstoun_McIntosh_Historical_Marker.
10. Kingsley Family and Society, National Park Service. July 14th 2020. Accessed October 5th 2020. https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/kp_family_society.htm.