Audio
Saturiwa Trail Tour Stop 1
Transcript
Marker #1
Fort George Island is an island with a very rich, long and varied past, with many historical periods. You will see that each historical period that we speak about today has impacted the island, and the people or their activities in its own way.
Paleo-Indians were in FL around 13, 000 years ago. The archaic people were on Fort George Island probably around 6000 years ago. The reason that we can say this is that evidence has been found in shell middens.
A shell midden is basically like an old landfill site from the early people. In this area, they are mainly composed of broken oyster shells, broken pieces of pottery, parts of bones, discarded tools, etc. The midden in this immediate area stretches from the waterline behind the Ribault Club, up through the back grounds and under the Ribault Club. Middens are not easily seen by the untrained eye, however a high density of oyster shells along with pieces of pottery, tools made of shell and bones often indicate their presence. Pottery found in this area has been dated back 4000 years and is part of what is referred to as Orange Period Pottery. It is the said to be some of the oldest pottery in W. Hemisphere.
The large white building you see on the east side of Fort George Road, the Ribault Club and its predecessor, the Fort George Hotel (built in 1875 and destroyed by fire 14 years later), were both constructed atop this prehistoric midden. While construction destroyed the upper levels of the midden, artifacts recovered from undisturbed lower levels indicate a probable occupation over three thousand years ago. This midden is one of 34 designated archeological sites on Fort George Island, which are all protected by state and federal law.
Now picture in your mind “The Roaring 20s”… a time of incredible financial growth, expansion, parties and celebration. It was just after the Great War (WW1). and there was a general belief that war would never happen again and that times would now be relaxed and easy. It was a time to celebrate and enjoy life. The Ribault Club was constructed in the optimism of this time.
The Ribault Club was opened in 1928, and was meant to be a playground for the rich and elite of places like Jacksonville, NY, Boston, and Philadelphia. It was marketed to wealthy northerners who enjoyed the facilities here including lawn bowling, the yacht basin overlooking the Fort George River, a Scottish style golf course and clay tennis courts. Club membership boomed the first few years to 225 affluent members, and an additional lodge was built on the grounds to accommodate the growing membership. The roaring 20’s continued at full swing here until the Depression and WW11, when the Club began to falter. For the next 50 years, the Club was owned by a number of developers who attempted to develop it and the island. Eventually, in 1989, the Club was purchased by the FPS. The FPS owned the building and leased the golf course to the City of Jacksonville who operated it until the facility closed in 1991. The Club was stabilized and boarded up from 1991-1998 and left as a mere image of what it once was.
We will talk about the very successful partnership, the community effort that saved the Ribault Club and the restoration of the building when we return here at the end of the tour.
Description
The Ribault Club
Credit
Florida Park Service/NPS
Date Created
12/21/2021
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