Kingsley Plantation

One of the interesting local historical parks is Kingsley Plantation .  It is a part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic National Preserve.   If you visit for a learning experience, children may enjoy the Junior Range program pamphlets:

For ages 7 years and under

For ages 8 years and older 

Recently I took a friend from Illinois to the park.

The number and size of the slave quarters she found heartwrenching. 

 I didn't need to add that during other months, the insects are so terrible in number and aggression, that it is impossible to walk among the cabins as we did that day. 

 The cabins are all lacking roofs except for the supervisors cabin, redone to help visitors have a feel of the space.  The cabins' walls are all repainted and repaired  over the original tabby aside from a few saved spots. 

 As with other types of construction, they would be completely destroyed in time.

On the water, strong breezes blowing away most of the insects is the main plantation house and outbuildings.

Boats pass steadily by, an easy transportation route even today.

Although not exactly Scarlett's beloved Tara, Kingsley Plantation is the oldest plantation house still standing in Florida. 

Although not an entire day trip, a leisurely visit will occupy 4 hours.  The rangers here are a great resource and happy to stop and talk about stories, activities and even may recruit littles to try their hand at cotton picking!

Kingsley Plantation is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Admission is free.

You can explore the grounds at Kingsley Plantation, which include the slave quarters, barn, waterfront, plantation house, kitchen house, and interpretive garden. The visitor contact station/bookstore is located in a 1920s building adjacent to the plantation buildings.
A ranger program is offered weekdays at 2:00 p.m. Please inquire at the visitor contact station.
Touring the Plantation House - The plantation house is closed during the week for structural work. Weekend tours are available on a limited basis at 11:00 a.m. and 3 p.m., please call ahead for reservations.

Filling the Gap - Docudrama of the African American Experience during the Ante-Bellum period

I have been to a museum here in town that has a couple people dress up as civil war soldiers and answer questions about what the time period was like. That was pretty neat, the kids thought it was cool. They had one old white guy, one teenage white guy, a teenage white girl and a regular black guy. (Regular would denote my age that I am now ... we'll just leave it there). Now, my thought was, wow ... that guys is pretty old, I wonder how old the older guys were that went off to war. But, at my right, another mom hissed that it was disgusting that they made an African American be there. Those kinds of people, the white reenactors, shouldn't be allowed in the park. I was surprised, and mumbled something about needing to study history. Did she really think that the white guy FORCED him to buy period clothing, a tent, a bag of peanuts (which he explained were called goobers) and then come set up and answer history related questions? I mean, to be realistic wouldn't it be odd to not have any African Americans around?

Back to the present, at this Olustee Reenactment, they have tents with displays, lots and lots of shops and recreated war tents. One of the tents was a display of the making of the movie "Filling the Gap". It is a movie made to fill in the gap of civil war history taught that ignores African Americans during that time aside from the stereotype of Uncle Ben's Cabin. Thank you, Ms. Fears and Mr. Young. There was an entire war that was fought with the freedom of enslaved Africans Americans the highest profile reason, and certainly the best result of it.

The film's website is http://www.essenceofhistory.com/ and they have clips, photos, and the film available for purchase.