Learn about Bulowville: The story of the land
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History of Bulowville
History of Bulowville
In 1812, on the 8th. of June, John Russell and his family came to this place from St. Augustine to claim a land grant from the Spaniards in exchange for a 53-ton schooner. John Russell, shipwright, a British subject born in South Carolina, built the ship while living in the Bahamas where he went when the American Revolution began. He died before doing much except marking the land by blazing the trees with his initials.
The land was then sold to Charles Wilhelm Bulow II, a wealthy cotton grower from Charleston, on August 1, 1821. Two years later, he died and left the plantation to his son John Joachim Bulow. C.W. Bulow wanted to develop a sugar plantation on this land, and his son "showing good sense and judgement" built the largest and wealthiest plantation in east Florida.
Charles Wilhelm Bulow II (1779 - 1823)
Founders of the Plantation
Founders of the Plantation
In 1821, Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow - a wealthy merchant from Charleston, South Carolina - acquired 4,675 acres of wilderness bordering a tidal creek that would bear his name for years to come.
Charles Wilhelm Bulow II was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1779, and he inherited significant wealth and land from his father, Lorents Joachim Bulow, who was also involved in plantation agriculture. C.W. Bulow II expanded his family's landholdings into Florida, where he developed the Bulow Plantation. Unfortunately, he would pass away 2 years after founding the Bulow Plantation, and his son, John Joachim Bulow, would inherit the plantation.
The plantation was one of the largest and most successful in the region, employing enslaved laborers to cultivate sugarcane, cotton, and other crops. The sugar mill at Bulow Plantation was a central feature of the operation, processing sugarcane into sugar and molasses.
Unfortunately, John Joachim Bulow's ownership of the plantation was short-lived. In 1836, during the Second Seminole War, the plantation was raided and destroyed by Seminole warriors, along with many other plantations in the area. John Bulow died later that year, and the plantation was never rebuilt to its former glory.
Opening the Land for travels in the 1800s
Opening the Land for travels in the 1800s
Land grants given by the Spaniards and land areas claims by the Indians presented a most pressing problem in the opening of Florida for settlement.
Runs such as these were made between St. Augustine and New Smyrna, on the Kings Road. when it was opened it was the only land road available for long trips.
Jacksonville and the Tallahassee stage
Jacksonville and the Tallahassee stage
The public are informed that a line of covered barouches will run between Tallahassee and Jacksonville, to leave this place every Monday.
Forty pounds baggage will be allowed to each passenger, and will be charged for every ten miles.
Fare through, each way, $25. - James M. Harris. Jacksonville, Jan 14.
Jacksonville courier, December 31, 1835 the only paper published near Bulowville of which copies are now available. This issue was printed during the best days of the plantation, and at the beginning of the Indian wars which occurred as a resistance of the signing of the Indian Removal Act.
East Florida Rail Road Company
Notice, is hereby given, that a meeting of the Stockholders of the East Florida Rail Road Company, will be held on the first Monday of February, 1836, at 3 o'clock, P.M. at No. 1, Commercial Whart in the City of Boston, to choose Directors for the year ensuing, agreeably to the act of incorporation.
–Samil S. Lewis, President. - Boston Nov 24, 1835.
In the 1830's steamboat travel was more popular than stage travel. The use of the railroad was only beginning. Flatboats and steamboats carried the crops to the sea ports. Travel was much easier and more comfortable on the rivers and inland waterways than on land.
The area would have a mail-boat that would leave for St. Mary's, Georgia, every Tuesday and return Thursday.
The stage would leave Pablo every Friday for St. Augustine and would return on the success following Sunday.
Bulowville Plantation House
Bulowville Plantation House
The Bulowville plantation house was built in the early 1820s and believed to have resembled the mansion shown on the right. The two and a half story building faced Bulow Creek and had a veranda on all sides. The first floor walls were coquina covered with stucco, as the rest of the house was wooden. The two kitchens were in a separate building.
James Ormond III, whose family is the namesake of the nearby city of Ormond Beach, said of the meals during his stay, "they had plenty of milk, eggs, butter and supply of hogs, venison, turkeys, wild honey and coontie bread provided by Seminole hunters."
Ormond wrote of John Bulow as "being graduated in all devilment to be learned in Paris" well educated, but very wild". Ormond said that there was an extensive library of mostly fictional works in the house.
Bulowville was abandoned on January 23, 1836 due to growing tensions in the area between the US troops and the Seminole nation. A "great rosy glow" was observed on January 31, 1836 in St. Augustine. The house was never rebuilt.
The view across the creek would have been of slaves working in a rice field. While the view to the west offered green open fields and of over forty slave cabins encircling the house.
Typical Plantation Life In The Old South
It was customary for nearby plantation owners to socialize this would include the Dummett, McRae, Ormond and Anderson families.
Bulowville may have been the center of many festivities because of Bulow's wealth. The neighboring families would come properly dressed for the occasion.
Glass bottles and fragments provide evidence of the use of ale, wine, olive oil and bitters.
This bottle was found at Bulowville was imported from Dublin. It may have contained ale.
Pipe smoking, drinking, newspapers, books, cards, and "talk" constituted Bulow's relaxation on the lowly evenings. He also had a light oarred bark, rowed by slaves, that he used for short pleasure trips.
Feather edge dishes found here were commonly used in the plantation era.
Willow Ware China, from Staffordshire, England, was very popular at this time. The trademark on the back of this Willow Ware plate was seen often in the 19th. century homes all over the settled area of the United States. The design on the small plate is a miniature of the large one. The "Feather-Edged" pattern was equally as popular. The transfer method of decoration, as shown on the small cup, was used at this time.
The Great House At Bulowville
The Great House At Bulowville
A Center for hospitality and gracious living
John Joachim Bulow's "Great House" was probably similar in appearance to this drawing of a Louisiana mansion, with a porch all around the second floor.
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
John James Audubon (1785-1851)
On Audubon's visit to Bulowville, he reflects the refinement of Bulow. Men whose time was spent collecting and drawing birds were not generally accepted by the hard-working planters. His drawing of two Greater Yellowlegs birds located presumably on Bulow Creek is considered the only image of Bulow Plantation during its operation.
"Tell-tale Godwit, or Snipe" by John James Audubon (1836)
This drawing by John James Audubon depicts two Greater Yellowlegs birds, and from analyses, can be determined that Bulow Creek and Bulowville are possibly in the background. Below is a panorama capture of where the possible site of where Audubon positioned his drawing.
Bulowville Boat Slips
John James Audubon stayed at Bulowville in January 1832 in search of birds for his work. From these boat slips, he explored the salt marshes of the Tomoka Basin and the Halifax River.
Flatboats were used to transport hogsheads of sugar and molasses from Bulow Creek to the Halifax River south to Mosquito Inlet north of Cape Canaveral. The waters were shallow and marred with sand bars.
Flatboats had no keel, were oared and offered a small space for crew which included slaves. Traveling on these waterways meant waiting on high tides and fighting off mosquitoes in summer.
A hogshead is a cask that held a volume of 64 gallons. Hogsheads were used to store and ship sugar and molasses. Slaves used wagons to move the hogsheads to the boat slips from the mill.
Crop Production on an East Florida Plantation
Soil and climate were thought to be well suited to cultivation of sugar cane and cotton, the principal market crops in East Florida. Indigo and rice were other market products.
After the cane was run though the press, the juice was sent to the receiving box to be boiled in the huge kettles. Lime was added and the impurities rose to the top to be skimmed off. There was a series of graduated kettles, the smallest being used to crystallize the sugar before it was place in a suspended barrel to let the molasses grain off. The brown sugar and molasses were then shipped to St. Augustine.
After the cotton was picked, it was sorted and allowed to dry for two days. then it was sorted again and sent to the Cotton Gin to have the seeds removed.
Scale model of mature cane
Scale model of mature cane
This model shows the jointed growth and slightly purple color of the stalk. The long slender leaves sometimes extend five feet on either side of the cane. The stalk attains a height of ten feet or more.
Hoe Blade
Hoe Blade
This artifact was one of the many Hoe Blades of this type found in the ruins of the Bulow Plantation. They were used for cultivating the young sugar cane, cotton, and other crops produced.
Sharp knives like this were made so that slaves would be able to cut ripe sugar cane.
Indigo Production
Indigo Production
Vats and drying racks were used for the production of indigo. The vats were large holding up to two thousand gallons of liquid. The stems and leaves were cut and laid in the larger vat. The stems were covered with a urine and water mix and left to soak. The liquid darkened to a gold or olive color. After eight to twelve hours the liquid was drained into a lower vat and lime water was added and the liquid was violently beaten. This added air to the fluid turning it blue. The indigo settled to the bottom of the vat as a sludge. After a few days the clear water was drawn and the residue of indigo was scooped into linen bags and hung to dry. After it reached a pasty consistency it was spread out on boards to dry and harden. Finally it was cut into small blocks for shipping.
A Plantation was a Self-Sufficient community
A Plantation was a Self-Sufficient community
Not only were market crops grown, but also provisions for the entire population of the plantation. Each slave was allotted a certain amount of land on which he raised the food for his or her family. Food crops were potatoes, squash, corn, melons, sweet potatoes, citrus, and other fruit. All of the plantations had a few milk cows, chickens, and pigs.
When the seeds had all been removed by the cotton gin, the cotton was put in a baler and pressed into large bales. It took nearly an acre's production of cotton to make one bale.
These cotton bolls still have the seeds in them. The ginning process removes the seeds leaving only the soft fibers.
Bulow Sugar Mill
Bulow Sugar Mill
The Bulow Sugar Mill, size 119' by 93', may have looked like this during the years it was operating. (A similar sugar factory in Louisiana of the same period.)
Sugar Cane Press
Sugar Cane Press
This is an image of a sugar cane press from a neighboring plantation, Dunlawton, was the type in general use by all of the larger sugar producers.
After the cane was run through the press, the juice was sent to the receiving box to be boiled in the huge kettles. Lime was added and the impurities rose to the top to be skimmed off. There was a series of graduated kettles, the smallest being used to crystallize the sugar before it was placed in a suspended barrel to let the molasses grain off. The brown sugar and molasses were then shipped to St. Augustine.
Army Garrison at Bulowville
December 1835 To January 1836
On December 28, 1835, Major Benjamin A. Putnam (1801 or 1803-1869), the namesake of Putnam County, and a company of men reached Bulowville after abandoning another plantation. Against Bulow's strong objection, for a short time Bulowville was converted into a military fortress, with stockade and breastworks of bales of cotton. A large number of refugee planters and their Negroes came to Bulowville for protection. On January 23, 1836, Bulowville was abandoned, and soldiers and refugees retired to St. Augustine.
U.S. Troops were brought to Florida in 1835, to remove the Seminoles by force, if necessary, to reservations west of the Mississippi River.
The Seminoles and their Leaders
In 1821 there were 35 Seminole Indian towns extending from the Apalachicola River to St. Augustine, with a total population of 5,000. Each town was ruled by a chief or leader. The Indians lived not only as hunters, but cultivated larger tracts of land and raised cattle, hogs, and chickens to supply their wants and needs.
Osceola allegedly put his mark on the Treaty of Fort Gibson (1833) in this manner. He refused to sigh the paper, as the tale of the knifing is questionable.
Indian Affairs
Sale of Indian cattle
The sale of cattle to be surrendered to the United States, by the Seminole Indians, under the 6th Article of the Treaty commence at Flotard's place, on the road leading from Micanopy to Tampa, about 12 miles from the Seminole Agency, on the 1st day of December Ensuing, and at Volusia on the right bank of the St. Johns River, on the 15th day of the same month, and be continued from day to day, until the whole that may be surrendered at Uioso places respectively, shall be sold.
Sales will be made to highest bidder, and prompt payment required from purchasers, in every case. It is probable that at considerable number of Indians Ponies, or horses, will be offered at private sale or public auction, at the same time and points assignated. - Wiley Thompson, Supt. Seminole Rern. Seminole Agency, Florida 4th Oct. 1835.
This was a result of the Treaty of Payne's Landing a short time after this ad appeared in the Jacksonville courier, the Second Seminole War had begun.
The Courier
The Courier
Stories on "The Indian Wars" ran regularly in Florida newspapers, as well as in newspapers printed in many other parts of the country.
Osceola, while not a chief, was one of the main figures in opposition to the removal of the Seminoles from Florida. Coacoochee, or Wildcat, was Osceola's "partner." J.J. Bulow was very friendly with this Indian, and his father Philip. their people provided fresh meat for Bulowville.
The Seminole Conflict and The End of an Era
In 1836, the Second Seminole War swept away the prosperous Bulow Plantation where the Bulow family grew sugar cane, cotton, rice and indigo. Ruins of the former plantation, a sugar mill, a unique spring house, several wells and the crumbling foundations of the plantation house and slave cabins show how volatile the Florida frontier was in the early 19th century.
Today, a scenic walking trail and dirt road leads visitors to the sugar mill ruins, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park has picnic facilities and an interpretive center that tells the plantation's history.
A boat ramp provides access for canoes and small powerboats to scenic Bulow Creek, a designated state canoe trail. Anglers can fish from the dock or a boat.
The Second Seminole War was a conflict that occurred in Florida, USA, between 1835 and 1842. It was one of the most significant conflicts between Native American tribes and the United States government in the 19th century. Here are some key points about the Second Seminole War:
Causes: The primary cause of the Second Seminole War was the desire of the United States government to remove the Seminole people from their lands in Florida and relocate them to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). This removal was part of the broader policy of Indian removal advocated by President Andrew Jackson and the federal government.
Treaty Violations: The conflict was also fueled by tensions arising from the Treaty of Payne's Landing in 1832, which called for the removal of the Seminole people to the West. Many Seminoles, led by their chief, Osceola, refused to comply with the treaty terms, arguing that they had not been properly represented in negotiations and that they did not wish to leave their ancestral lands.
Outbreak: The Second Seminole War officially began in December 1835 when Seminole warriors ambushed and killed Major Francis L. Dade and his troops near present-day Bushnell, Florida. This event, known as the Dade Massacre, marked the beginning of hostilities between the Seminoles and the U.S. Army.
Guerrilla Warfare: The Seminoles, led by leaders like Osceola and Micanopy, employed guerrilla tactics, using the dense swamps and forests of Florida to their advantage. This made it difficult for the U.S. Army to defeat them decisively.
Cost and Duration: The Second Seminole War was a costly and protracted conflict for both sides. It lasted for seven years, making it the longest and most expensive of the Seminole Wars. The U.S. government spent millions of dollars and deployed thousands of troops in its efforts to subdue the Seminoles.
Conclusion: The war ended inconclusively in 1842, with the U.S. government failing to achieve its primary objective of removing the Seminoles from Florida. Instead, the conflict resulted in the devastation of Seminole lands and communities and the loss of thousands of lives on both sides.
Legacy: Despite the inconclusive outcome, the Second Seminole War had lasting consequences. It demonstrated the resilience of the Seminole people and their determination to resist removal from their homeland. It also highlighted the challenges and complexities of U.S. expansion into Native American territories in the 19th century.
Today, Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park preserves the ruins of the sugar mill and other structures from the plantation era, providing visitors with a glimpse into Florida's history of plantation agriculture and the lives of the people who lived and worked there, including both the plantation owners and the enslaved individuals who toiled under harsh conditions.
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