Notable Visitors
John James Audubon
William Bartram |
In 1831, John James Audubon (1785-1851) arrived in Florida to collect water birds for the third volume of his great illustrated book, Birds of America. After disembarking at St. Augustine on November 20, he traveled on foot and by pony over log roads and trails. Audubon explored the east coast of Florida and the Florida Keys for the next six months. He followed the waterways by canoe, skiff, cutter, and schooner, and the mosquitoes followed him. "Reader," he wrote, "if you have not been in such a place, you cannot easily conceive the torments we endured."
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In the spring of 1774, William Bartram, a naturalist from Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, traveled inland from the St. Johns River to the Alachua Savanna, present-day Paynes Prairie Preserve. In 1772, Dr. John Fothergill had commissioned Bartram to collect the natural history specimens in the Georgia colony for the sum of £150 per annum. Having failed in 1766 to establish a plantation outside near present-day Jacksonville, Florida, Bartram had not yet made a place for himself in life. Now, at the age of thirty-five, he returned to East Florida to follow his favorite pursuit, the study of plants and animals.
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James Edward Oglethorpe
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James Edward Oglethorpe, (born December 22, 1696, London, England—died June 30/July 1, 1785, Cranham Hall, Essex, England), English army officer, philanthropist, and founder of the British colony of Georgia in America.
In 1732 Oglethorpe secured a charter for his colony in what became Georgia. In 1733 he accompanied the first settlers and founded Savannah. On the outbreak of the war between England and Spain in 1739, he led a vigorous defense of the territory. He was foiled in an attempt to capture the Spanish town of St. Augustine, Florida, but was able to repel an attack on Fort Frederica, Georgia (1742). Oglethorpe’s popularity, not only with his hurriedly raised and imperfectly trained troops but also with all classes of the population, helped to assure the safety of the colony. Oglethorpe was responsible for the large number of characters, which were formely from prisons in England. He tried to make colonies and use these men to build his communities. many ventured down into Florida becoming as we know them now as "Florida Crackers" or Palmetto Cowboys . Oglethorpe returned to England in 1743, where he resumed his parliamentary career |
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (August 8, 1896 – December 14, 1953),
celebrated author of such novels as "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek" was no
stranger to the St. John's River. Her visits to Pat's Island where she supplied herself with moonshine. Mr. A Long, told her of the fawn they kept and she wrote of this story which became "The Yearling" .
Marjorie Rawlings and her friend Dessie Smith Prescott took a boat trip down the St. Johns River in 1933 that Rawlings later wrote about in her short story, "Hyacinth Drift".
She often visited her friend Barney Dillard who was a member of the pioneer family that lived across the river from the present day town of Astor. He regularly helped her with her research, particularly with her stories of bear hunting. Click HERE to visit the Dillard Family and learn more about their friendship with Marjorie.
Please visit The Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm and explore their excellent website. Learn more about Marjorie at Wikipedia.
celebrated author of such novels as "The Yearling" and "Cross Creek" was no
stranger to the St. John's River. Her visits to Pat's Island where she supplied herself with moonshine. Mr. A Long, told her of the fawn they kept and she wrote of this story which became "The Yearling" .
Marjorie Rawlings and her friend Dessie Smith Prescott took a boat trip down the St. Johns River in 1933 that Rawlings later wrote about in her short story, "Hyacinth Drift".
She often visited her friend Barney Dillard who was a member of the pioneer family that lived across the river from the present day town of Astor. He regularly helped her with her research, particularly with her stories of bear hunting. Click HERE to visit the Dillard Family and learn more about their friendship with Marjorie.
Please visit The Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm and explore their excellent website. Learn more about Marjorie at Wikipedia.
Marjorie's Place today
Frederick Delius
The English composer, Frederick Delius (January 29, 1862 –June 10, 1934) lived for only a year and a half (1885/86) on the St. Johns River but the experience was to influence his music for the rest of his life.
"In Florida, through sitting and gazing at nature, I gradually learnt the way in which I should eventually find myself…hearing singing in such romantic surroundings, it was then and there that I first felt the urge to express myself in music.” - Frederick Delius
Click here to listen to "By the River", the second of four parts of his orchestral composition "Florida Suite" performed by the English Northern Philharmonia Orchestra, David Lloyd Jones, conductor.
Citations:
Greene, Mary E., "Before the Champions: Frederick Delius' Florida Suite for Orchestra" (2011). Open Access Theses. Paper
248.
Jacksonville Historical Society
Wikipedia
"In Florida, through sitting and gazing at nature, I gradually learnt the way in which I should eventually find myself…hearing singing in such romantic surroundings, it was then and there that I first felt the urge to express myself in music.” - Frederick Delius
Click here to listen to "By the River", the second of four parts of his orchestral composition "Florida Suite" performed by the English Northern Philharmonia Orchestra, David Lloyd Jones, conductor.
Citations:
Greene, Mary E., "Before the Champions: Frederick Delius' Florida Suite for Orchestra" (2011). Open Access Theses. Paper
248.
Jacksonville Historical Society
Wikipedia
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