Fish Island Plantation - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Fish Island is named for Jesse Fish, of British descent, who arrived in St. Augustine in 1736. Fish was a slave-owner and purchased enslaved Africans to work his groves and other properties, eventually owning at least 133 people. By the mid-1700s, the area was part of his large commercial orange plantation on Anastasia Island called El Vergel (orchard/garden). Fruit from 3,000 trees, noted for sweetness and thin skins, was shipped as far as London. On Fish Island, he built a home of native coquina stone, establishing outbuildings, canals, wells, a boat basin, and a wharf. These are now archaeological features, along with pottery and oyster shell debris left by Native Americans in prehistoric times. Fish was buried here in 1790, and likely others as well. Late 1800s visitors described mansion ruins, pathways, fields, furrows, and aged orange trees. This archaeologically and historically significant island links Florida’s orange history, plantation life, and trans-Atlantic slave trade in early St. Augustine. Supported by the Friends of Fish Island, it was purchased by the State in 2019 and is managed by the City of St. Augustine. The Fish Island Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Marker Number: F-1196 Date: 2022 County: St Johns Marker Type: City Sponsored or placed by: The City of St. Augustine and the Florida Department of State Website: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/04/2023 hart612 visited it