The Kingsley Plantation House is the oldest plantation house still standing in Florida. It was purchased by the state of Florida in 1955 and run as a tourist attraction under the name Kingsley Plantation State Historic Site. Shortly after the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve was created in 1988, the plantation grounds were handed over to the federal government, and it is now under the management of the National Park Service. The house is currently open on weekends from 10 AM to 12 PM and from 1 PM to 4 PM. It is closed at lunch time. Rangers are inside to answer any questions. Times can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
Zephaniah Kingsley purchased Fort George Island in 1814 after its previous owner, John McIntosh, fled back to the United States after taking part in a failed revolution against the Spanish, who owned Florida at the time. Kingsley was the owner of a plantation at Doctors Lake in modern-day Orange Park, which is just south of Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. Kingsley had remained loyal to Spain, and his plantation home had been destroyed during the rebellion.
Before fleeing back to the United States, McIntosh burned the plantation to the ground, destroying all outbuildings and severely damaging the main house. Though there have been many owners of Fort George Island over the years, the plantation retains the name Kingsley because all of the buildings on the property, except for the house, were built by Kingsley. The house itself, with only its frame remaining after the fire, was restored by Kingsley, though it has been modified by subsequent owners. Kingsley sold the plantation in 1839 to his nephew, Kingsley Beatty Gibbs.
The front of the Kingsley Plantation House faces the Fort George River. When built, the only way to the island was by boat, which is why the front of the house faces the water. Notice that it is not very large or opulent despite its owners being wealthy men. This is thought to be because pirates were common on the river, and home owners didn’t want to draw any attention to their wealth.
The back of the house faces all of the outbuildings, including the slave cabins. Kingsley did not want arriving guests to see these buildings.
The other time period most important to the history of the Kingsley Plantation House is the John Rollins era, for it was Rollins who drastically altered the house’s design. Rollins purchased the property—the entire Fort George Island—just after the Civil War in 1869 (it had at least four owners between Kingsley and Rollins). The original house, which was actually built by John McQueen in the 1790s (he was the owner prior to McIntosh), had a center section with smaller rooms extending out from the four corners, creating a star-like shape similar to bastions on a fort. This resulted in a structure in which every wall was exposed, allowing wind to blow freely through the house for cooling purposes. Rollins filled in the space between the corner rooms at each end of the house. Whether he understood what he was doing is questionable, for this put an end to the free flowing air effect used to cool the house. Supposedly it was his wife’s idea so that she could have more space.
Without slave labor, farming the island was no longer profitable, so Rollins built the Fort George Island Hotel in 1875 and set out to market the place as a vacation destination. He lived in the plantation house until death, at which time his daughter and her family occupied it—they were the last family to live on the property as a homeowner. She sold the property to investors in 1923 for development into the Army Navy Club. Electricity was added to the house during this time.
Only one room in the house has any furnishings, and these once belonged to the Gibbs family. The National Park Service chose not to furnish the home with reproductions or antiques from the time period, so unless original items are located and purchased, the rooms will remain empty. This is in contrast to the outbuildings, which do have reproduction furnishings in them.
In addition to the Plantation House, visitors can walk the grounds of the Kingsley Plantation on their own and see the slave cabin ruins, the barn, and the kitchen building. For information about the history of the plantation and the purpose of the buildings, there is a website-based audio tour that you can listen to on your cell phone that takes about an hour and a half to complete. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the audio tour and instead pick up a printed Grounds Tour brochure at the Kingsley Plantation Visitor Center and read that as you quickly walk the grounds. There are plenty of information panels at each stop of interest as well.
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Last updated on April 15, 2022