Kingsley Plantation - Jacksonville, FL - Ghosts and Hauntings on Waymarking.com

"Kingsley Plantation, which features the state’s oldest plantation house, 23 slave residences, and associated buildings amid a pristine wetland, is one of Florida’s most important historical sites. As with many similar landmarks, local folklore holds that former residents still haunt the place. The plantation dates to 1797. From 1814 to 1837, it was owned by the South’s most atypical slaveholders: Zephaniah Kingsley and his wife Anna Madgigine Jai, a Wolof slave he married and later freed. The property came into public hands in 1955 and became a national park in 1991.

According to Jaxlore: Folklore, Urban Legends, and Regionalisms,legends that Kingsley Plantation was haunted spread just after it became a park. The plantation’s historic architecture and sublime surroundings encourage ghost stories, and its status as a national park gives it a core of dedicated caretakers who foster its lore and pass it to visitors. Easily the most famous of the plantation ghosts is Old Red Eyes, who’s been spotted since 1978. The story goes that he was a slave who raped and killed girls in the slave quarters until the others caught him and lynched him from an oak tree beside the roadway. The villain’s ghost still appears as a pair of glowing eyes in the woods. The legend relies on some nasty old tropes – mobs used stories like this to rationalize lynching. However, it’s worth noting that the legend portrays Red Eyes’ deeds as crimes against and avenged by slaves. This development may reflect the unusual social dynamic of the Kingsley days, a legacy the park’s staff fastidiously memorialize.

The legends and sightings extend well beyond Old Red Eyes. Staff have reported hearing a ghostly child crying in the well and encountering a turban-wearing African in the main house. Joyce Elson Moore, author of the Haunt Hunter’s Guide to Florida, snapped a photo she believes shows an ethereal “woman in white” – none other than Anna Kingsley herself. Zephaniah is also said to be present; the staff maintain a tradition of never saying “Goodnight, Mr. Kingsley,” as “something bad” may happen."

--Source (visit link)

Public access?: Kingsley Plantation is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Admission is free. Visting hours: Daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Website about the location and/or story: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:

• Please submit a photo(s) taken by you of your visit to the location (non-copyrighted photos only). GPS photos are also accepted with the location in the background, and old vacation photos are accepted. Photos you took of paranormal activity are great. If you are not able to provide a photo, then please describe your visit or give a story about the visit
• Tell your story if you saw, felt, or smelled anything unusual. Post pictures of what you saw.
• Add any information you may have about the location. If your information is important about the location, please contact the waymark owner to see if it can be added to the description.
• Be careful and do not enter areas which are off limits or look dangerous. No waymark is worth harm. Use your 6th sense, because sometimes there are unseen things which are telling you to stay out.
• Use care when using your camera flash so you do not disrupt any possible nearby residents. Time lapse can be the best tool on your camera in many circumstances.

 

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/01/2022 Don.Morfe visited it 05/27/2019 ORDIMIC visited it

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