Vermont Gypsies: Live Oaks and Seminole Wars

The largest stand of Live Oak trees is located here in the Ormond Beach area. Live Oaks grow from Virginia south to the Gulf coast. They are considered to be evergreen trees and provide habitat and food for a number of animals and plants. Spanish Moss, Resurrection Fern and parasitic Mistletoe grow amongst the branches. Some famous Live Oaks are as old as 1500 years. Here in Bulow State Park near Ormond Beach, grows a magnificent Live Oak called the Fairchild Oak. It is 500 years old, 68 feet tall and spreads 300 feet wide.

In the early 1800s, Charles Bulow, youngest son of a prominent Charleston family, purchased 2,200 acres along the Halifax River. 300 slaves, borrowed from his brother in Charleston, cleared most of this area to plant indigo, rice, sugar cane and cotton. "Bulowville" was a large and spacious plantation house and one among 16 plantations along the St. John's and Halifax Rivers. In December of 1835, local natives who were angry about the forced removals of their people to the West, burned and destroyed all 16 of these plantations. History is fascinating to me.....but I often wonder why we fail to learn from deeds and events in our not too distant past.

Thursday was a lovely day to head out to Ormond Beach. It hasn't really been warm here... A bit chilly with a north wind but we are happy just being able to hang out on the beach. John had fun doing a bit of surf casting and I read....another good book.