Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

Flagler Beach, Florida Flagler Beach is a city in Flagler County, Florida, Flagler County in the U.S. state of Florida. The population was 4,484 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Flagler Beach is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL metr ...

. It is three miles west of Flagler Beach on CR 2001, south of SR 100, and contains the ruins of an ante-bellum

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

and its sugar mill, built of

coquina Coquina () is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term ''coquina'' ...

, a fossiliferous sedimentary rock composed of shells. It was the largest plantation in East Florida, and was operated with the forced labor of enslaved Africans and African Americans.

History

The plantation was developed beginning in 1821 by Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow, who acquired 4,675 acres on a tidal creek (later Bulow Creek). He had 2,200 acres cleared by the labor of his enslaved workforce for the cultivation of commodity crops:

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

, and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

. At his death in 1823, his seventeen-year-old son, John Joachim Bulow inherited the property and managed it. At Christmas 1831 into January 1832, Bulow hosted the artist and naturalist

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...

, who explored the area in his continuing study of American birds. About that time, Bulow had a sugar mill constructed on his property. The plantation was destroyed in the Seminole War of 1836. The property and ruins were acquired by the State of Florida in 1945 and dedicated as a State Historic Park in 1957. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on 29 September 1970.

Fauna

Among the

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

of the park are

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

swallow-tailed kite The swallow-tailed kite (''Elanoides forficatus'') is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus ''Elanoides''. Most North and Central American b ...

s, and Florida

manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

Recreational activities

Activities include

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, wildlife viewing,

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

ing and

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

ing, and

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

king. Amenities include a 6.8 mile

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

, a boat ramp, and a screened picnic pavilion. Bulow Creek is recognized as a State Canoe Trail. The park's interpretive center features original artifacts and exhibits about the Bulow Plantation.

Hours

The park is open between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM Thursday through Monday. Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Gallery

Image:Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic SP - plaque.jpg, Image:Storing and Loading Area - Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.jpg, Image:Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic SP.jpg, Image:Bulowruinsbunnell2.jpg, Image:Bulow Plantation Ruins SP ruins09.jpg,

References

External links

Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park
a
Florida State Parks

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Absolutely Florida
* {{authority control Archaeological sites in Florida State parks of Florida Parks in Flagler County, Florida Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Ruins in the United States Sugar plantations in Florida Museums in Flagler County, Florida History museums in Florida Protected areas established in 1957 Florida Native American Heritage Trail Houses in Flagler County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Flagler County, Florida Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida 1957 establishments in Florida Buildings and structures in Flagler County, Florida Slave cabins and quarters in the United States Forts in Florida Second Seminole War fortifications