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Thursday, July 1, 2004
Florida loyal to Britain day Declaration signed
By Morris Sullivan | News-Journal Correspondent
DELAND — Floridians will celebrate the United States’ independence on July 4 with the rest of the nation. But it might surprise local celebrants to know that, while Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock and the other patriots were signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, residents of Florida were loyal to the king.
Old Fort Park |
Until a little more than a decade before the American Revolution began, Florida belonged to Spain. During the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Spain turned Florida over to Britain. The new British colony soon was divided into two administrative districts separated by the Apalachicola River. St. Augustine became the capital of East Florida.
Even after more than 200 years, there are a few remains of British colonialism within an easy drive of West Volusia, including archaeological sites in New Smyrna Beach and lengths of the Old King’s Road, which remain near Bunnell.
The road originally was built from St. Augustine to the New Smyrna colony, which itself was a product of British attempts to populate East Florida and to encourage production of indigo, silk, cotton, rice and other agricultural goods.
Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish-born physician and wealthy Londoner, founded New Smyrna. Turnbull was awarded a grant of 20,000 acres by the king and, with two partners, assembled the land and money to develop a large plantation.
Turnbull went to Minorca, where a crop failure had left many farmers destitute, and recruited more than 1,000 islanders to come to Florida. He added more labor from Greece, Italy, France, Corsica and Turkey and set sail for East Florida with only a little more than 1,400 colonists. By the time they reached New Smyrna four months later, illness had reduced the number to 1,255.
There was little housing in place; most colonists had to live in makeshift palm huts. From 1771 to 1773, the colony produced decent crop yields and life stabilized.
With severe droughts the next two years, however, crops did poorly and the death rate rose. While conditions finally improved, Turnbull never was able to produce enough crops to satisfy his investors.
By the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, colonists were abandoning New Smyrna, fleeing for St. Augustine. By 1777, the plantation had been virtually abandoned.
During the colony’s years of existence, however, many buildings were constructed from Spruce Creek south to where Edgewater now stands. The center of the settlement now is part of downtown New Smyrna Beach.
Early maps show the King’s Road, a highway connecting St. Augustine with New Smyrna, ending near the present downtown.
A network of canals, believed to have been dug by Turnbull’s colonists, still is visible in areas of New Smyrna Beach.
Probably the best known remains of the New Smyrna colony are the coquina foundations at Old Fort Park in downtown New Smyrna Beach.
The function of the foundations is a mystery: An account written in 1776 says that construction of a large stone building had begun for a mansion house but archeologists suggest it most likely was a commercial building.
While Turnbull was colonizing New Smyrna, John Bartram began to explore West Volusia and the St. Johns River.
Bartram, appointed the Royal botanist in 1765, was asked to “range over Georgia and the Floridas,” collecting plant and insect specimens.
Accompanied by his son, Bartram arrived in Florida in 1774 and headed toward the Lower Store, owned by trading company Spalding and Kelsall.
By the time the Declaration of Independence was signed, colonists were abandoning New Smyrna, fleeing for St. Augustine. By 1777, the plantation had been virtually abandoned.
Palatka.Spalding and Kelsall also operated an Upper Store farther south, upriver on the St. Johns.
Bartram traveled upriver, stopping at settlements and plantations along the way until he reached the Upper Store, where Astor is now, on the west side of the river about five miles north of Lake George.
He stayed at the Upper Store only a few days before leaving to visit Lord Beresford’s plantation west of present-day DeLand.
On his way, he traveled through Lake Dexter and camped at a shell mound on the west bank, where he saw alligators so thick he could have walked across the river “on their heads.” The alligators were feeding, like sharks in a frenzy, on fish trying to enter the channel where the lake joined the St. Johns.
He spent the next two or three days covering the 18 miles from Lake Dexter to Lake Beresford, arriving at Beresford Plantation around June 1, 1774. His host, the plantation caretaker, took him to visit Blue Spring, the southernmost point reached by Bartram during his trip.
Bartram enjoyed his visit to Lake Beresford, taking time to explore Hontoon Island and describing the view of the “beauteous long lake . . . its most distant East shores adorned with dark, high forests of stately trees; North and South almost endless green plains and meadows, embellished with islets and projecting promontories of high, dark forests.”
During the American Revolution, Florida stayed loyal to the Crown and many loyalists from other colonies migrated south to Florida.
There were a few battles fought in Florida during the Revolution, including a famous one at Cow Ford, where American forces attempted to invade and take St. Augustine, at Pensacola, and in Nassau County. However, most of Florida stayed free of fighting.
After the war, Britain had little use for Florida and returned it to Spain in 1783. The colonists were required by the Spanish either to leave or pledge their loyalty to Spain. Many of the British loyalists who had come to Florida from the 13 original colonies were unwelcome back home. Most returned to Britain.
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