Flagler County

General Joseph Hernandez had a large plantation that was burned by the Seminoles at the beginning of the Second Seminole War. The ruins of his sugar mill remained undisturbed for many years until the "developers" of Palm Coast destroyed the remains in the late 1970's.

Other Second Seminole War Forts: Fort Fulton on Pellicer Creek.

PLACES TO VISIT:

Bulow Plantation State Historic Site:

The haunting remains of this sugar mill ruins are one of the more spectacular relics of the Second Seminole War. It is well worth the detour to see the large coquina ruins of the former mill.

The Bulow Ruins

Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow started Bulowville, a large sugar plantation here on Bulow Creek in 1821. He used slave labor, and today you can see the remains of the foundations of the slave cabins in the park. This place soon became one of the largest and most productive plantations on the East Coast, producing sugar, cotton, indigo, and other agricultural products.

Charles Bulow died after few years, and left the whole industry to his eccentric son, John Bulow. John increased production, and made the plantation a shining beacon of the southern plantation economy. Many guests were treated hospitably at the house, including John James Audubon, who visited in 1831.

John Bulow proved to be a very strange character. His parties at the mansion were legendary, and the boat landing is built upon mounds of discarded liquor bottles. He never married, and was always noted for eccentric behavior. It is said that he was cruel to the slaves, but treated the Seminoles more favorably than most white landowners of that day.

Bulow did not agree with the United States policy to force the Seminoles to emigrate west of the Mississippi. In 1835 when the local State Militia "Mosquito Roarers" came down the creek to turn the plantation into a fortified outpost, Bulow fired upon them with a cannon and drove them away. The troops returned, took Bulow and put him in irons, and set up a fort. Bulow was involuntarily enlisted into the state militia. After a while, yellow fever and other sickness broke out in the area, and the plantation was abandoned. The militia along with John Bulow and his slaves went to St. Augustine. Bulow moved to Paris where he died at the age of 26.

In January 1836 the Seminoles burned Bulowville, along with all the rest of the East Coast plantations. The ruins that you see today are all that remain, and the forest has claimed the former fields. At one point the Seminoles set up camp in the remains of the coquina ruins, and the army captured them in a surprise attack.

Return to the Chapter IV contents page.

Return to the main page.