Old Town Fernandina is Gaining Attraction

Sunset over the Amelia River

Join the Old Town Fernandina Beach, FL Bi-Centennial Celebration on April 2, 2011.
Just a few short years ago, 1811, to be exact, the Timucan Indians roamed the Northern end of Amelia Island along the Amelia River, now known as Old Town Fernandina.  The Spanish and the English soon realized the importance of a direct shipping lane from Spain to this area.

So, a short 200 years ago the Spanish platted “Old Town”.  Old Town is documented to be the last town in the Western Hemisphere to be platted by the “Spanish Laws of the Indies”.  The Old Town plat remains today with lots measuring about 48 feet by 90 feet.  Old Town today consists of approximately 23 blocks incorporating 146 buildable lots.  The Land Development Code preserves Old Town’s historic grid and defines the requirements to be met for property constructed in Old Town.

Plat Map of Old Fernandina going back to 1811

In recent years Old Town has become more popular to home owners, and as you drive through the narrow and dirt streets you will see both older homes and new construction.  It is a prime location for people wanting a peaceful and friendly community that reaks of history and has breathtaking sunset views across the Amelia River.  Just to the South of Old Town is the location of current day Fernandina Beach.  Its location was a result of David Yulee’s railroad to Cedar Key on Florida’s Westcoast not being able to cross the salt marsh into Old Town and ending at what is now Centre Street in downtown Fernandina Beach.

Come enjoy the celebration, tour Old Town Historic Homes, walk the streets your forefathers walked, enjoy fun, food, music, and tales of days gone by. I found the following information on SearchAmelia.com

Have you heard about the upcoming Old Town Fernandina Bicentennial: 1811-2011 celebration on Amelia Island? To help spread the word of this exciting celebration, I found the following information on oldtownfernandina.org:

What’s it all about?

In 1811, two events took place in Old Town Fernandina that were milestones in the development of today’s City of Fernandina Beach. On January 1, the name of the Spanish Amelia Island Military Post and the town that had grown up around it was renamed Fernandina. The decree, issued by Enrique White, the Spanish Governor of the Spanish Province of East Florida, was issued on December 24, 1810, and named the town for Spain’s King Ferdinand VII.

On May 11, 1811 Jose Estrada, White’s successor as Governor instructed his Surveyor, General George F. Clarke to plat the town according to the Spanish Law of the Indies. Other US cities that have used the same plan include Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. Fernandina was the last to be so platted, and according to the University of Florida “The Old Town grid remains as one of the last and purest examples of the Law of the Indies planning Edict of 1573″.

The House where Pipi Longstocking movie was filmed

In 1811, Old Fernandina was booming as it profited from being close to the United States, but not subject to its laws. Smuggling and Slave-Trading were the mainstays of its economy. As the US grew in international stature, it became increasingly obvious that Washington could not allow Amelia Island and Fernandina to remain in foreign hands. The next 10 years saw much of Fernandina’s colorful history as five of the island’s eight flags were raised and lowered, but in 1821, when Florida became a US Territory much of this “economic stimulus” was removed.

The City of Fernandina was first chartered on this site by an Act of the Territorial Legislature of Florida, but by most accounts the area was in economic decline until the coming of the railroad in the 1850’s.

Sen. David Yulee established the eastern terminus of his railroad about one mile south of Old Fernandina, and a new city began to grow in what we now call Downtown Fernandina. A new charter in 1854 established a larger Fernandina with boundaries that included Old Fernandina and which extended to the Atlantic coast on the east, and Pine Street on the south. The rest is history…

Celebrate these two important events of 1811, and be prepared to celebrate further bicentenaries in the coming 15 years:

2012 – Patriot War
2017 – Gregor McGregor
2017 – Irwin/Hubbard
2017 – Luis Aury
2017 – US intervention
2021 – Florida becomes US Territory
2025 – First charter incorporating the “City of Fernandina”.