Big Bend Scenic Byway - Tate's Hell State Forest - Carrabelle, Florida.
N 29° 46.568 W 084° 47.266
16R E 713869 N 3296030
Tate's Hell State Forest with over 800 miles of roads trails, & tracks in Franklin & Liberty counties. The forest is located at Easpoint, near Carrabelle off the Big Bend Scenic Byway (US 98) along the gulf coast, Northern Florida.
Waymark Code: WMXKKG
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2018
Views: 0
The Coordinates & Photos are at the main entrance off the Big Bend Scenic Highway (US-98).
"Since its acquisition by the State of Florida Department of Forestry in 1994, 12 restoration projects have been undertaken to restore some of the natural drainage and natural communities. These projects include removal or planting of some road beds, restoring natural water flow, and alteration of planted species. As of 2007, eight of the 12 projects had been completed at a cost of $1.446 million and affecting 39,070 acres (158.1 km2) of the State Forest. It will however, take a much longer time for the forest to return to a more natural state. The Florida Department of Forestry and North West Florida Water Management District continue to study and plan for future restoration of the Forest.
Animals and plant life.
White Birds-in-a-nest (Macbridea alba)
Many endangered or threatened animals live in Tate's Hell State Forest including the gopher tortoise and red-cockaded woodpecker. Some rare plant species living on the forest include thick-leaved water-willow (Justicia crassifolia), white birds-in-a-nest (Macbridea alba), Florida bear grass (Nolina atopocarpa), Chapman's butterwort (Pinguicula planifolia), and small-flowered meadow beauty (Rhexia parviflora). Common animals such as alligators and wild cats are found in the area as well.
Local legend attributes the forest's unusual name to Cebe Tate, a local homesteader who became lost in the woods in the mid 1870s. He had ventured into the woods with his hunting dog in order to shoot a panther that had attacked his livestock. The legend is often recounted with Tate becoming separated from his dogs and lost for seven days and seven nights before coming to a clearing near Carrabelle, where he lived only long enough to say to a passerby "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell" before collapsing."
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