Instone House at Seminole Rest, Canaveral National Seashore

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See the Historical Sites web page for an interactive location map.

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Seminole Rest is located on the western shore of Mosquito Lagoon at 210 River Road, Oak Hill, Florida. It lies entirely outside of the Canaveral National Seashore and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge boundaries, but it is part of Canaveral National Seashore. It was acquired by the government nearly two decades after the National Seashore was created in 1975.

The grounds of Seminole Rest are open daily from sunrise to sunset, but the Instone House is only open at specific times, usually on Thursdays through Sundays from noon until 4 PM. Times can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to visit Canaveral National Seashore’s Calendar web page for the latest schedule (search Seminole Rest in the Keyword box).

Seminole Rest parking area, Canaveral National Seashore

The dominate features of the property are the late-1800s home of the Hatton Tumor family and a guest cottage known as the Caretaker’s House. However, the name Seminole Rest is actually referring to a group of shell middens, one of which the two buildings are situated on. A midden is defined as a garbage dump, and in this case the dumps belonged to the Timucuan Indians who lived in the area between 600 and 1400 AD (this particular midden was used from 770-1100 AD). The Timucuan mainly subsisted on a seafood diet. After preparing shellfish, the shells were dumped in a pile, thus the term shell midden. Over the years these dumps of shells grew into substantial hills. I can picture some poor Timucuan kid having to haul the night’s dinner garbage to the top of the mound, and the parents saying, “When I was your age I had to haul garbage to the top of middens ten times that tall.”

During modern times, many middens were leveled and used as fill for construction sites, railroads, and roads, so there are not many left intact. The mounds at Seminole Rest were saved by a private citizen who purchased the property and built his home on top of the mounds instead of selling the shells to the railroad companies that wanted to use them for landfill. I suppose the draw of having a home on a hill, a rarity in Florida, was important to Hatton Tumor, who lived on the property with his family from 1890 to 1911. The large home, called the Instone House, and the Caretaker’s House were not built by Tumor, but were purchased by him and possibly moved to their current locations from another place in the area.

Instone House at Canaveral National Seashore’s Seminole Rest

Caretaker’s House at Seminole Rest, Canaveral National Seashore

Tumor sold the property to Wesley H. Snyder in 1911, and the Snyder family lived in the home until the late 1980s. The Nature Conservatory purchased the property from Snyder and then sold it to the National Park Service.

Side view of the Instone House at Canaveral National Seashore’s Seminole Rest

Front porch of the Instone House at Seminole Rest, Canaveral National Seashore

As mentioned, Seminole Rest consists of a number of middens, the largest of which is now known as the Snyder Mound, named for the Snyder family. The midden consists mainly of quahog clam shells and covers a 740-foot by 340-foot area. It is 13 feet tall. While the midden was mainly used from 770-1100 AD, pottery found on the site dates back to 2000 BC, indicating the land was used long before it became a shell dump.

Caretaker’s House at Seminole Rest, Canaveral National Seashore

Only the Instone House is open to the public, though this is not a “tour” house. It serves mainly as a museum, with a few archaeology exhibits and a large collection of old photographs from the Snyder family. A small gift and book store is also inside the house.

Exhibit on archaeology at the Seminole Rest museum, Canaveral National Seashore

A paved path winds through the property, and guests are requested to stay on the path to protect the shell midden underneath.

Visitors must stay on the paved walkways at Seminole Rest, Canaveral National Seashore

Near the parking lot is a picnic table and a canoe launch. The canoe launch is for day-use only, as no overnight parking is allowed at Seminole Rest.

Seminole Rest canoe launch at Canaveral National Seashore

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