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During the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, many people came to Florida. During Florida’s
plantation period (1763-1865), Fort George Island was owned by many
planters. The site name comes from one of those owners, Zephaniah
Kingsley. The Kingsleys lived here from 1814 to 1837.
Some of these Florida residence,
like Zephaniah Kingsley, sought to make their fortunes by obtaining land
and establishing plantations. Others were forced to come to Florida to
work on those plantations, their labor providing wealth to the people who
owned them. Some of the enslaved would later become free landowners,
struggling to keep their footing in a dangerous time of shifting alliances
and politics. All of these people played a part in the history of Kingsley
Plantation. |
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A fifth of a mile from the plantation home of Zephaniah Kingsley are the
remains of 23 tabby cabins. Arranged in a semicircle, there were 32 cabins
originally, 16 on either side of the road. This area represents the slave
community, homes of the men, women, and children who lived and worked on
Kingsley Plantation more than 150 years ago. |