Location: Bunnell, Flagler County Map
Area: 109 acres (44 ha)
Built: 1821
Open: 9am- 5pm
Thur- Mon
Closed: Tue, Wed
Entrance Fee:
$2 per
person, $4 per vehicle
Picnic Pavilion: $30.00 per day, plus tax
Info:
(386) 517-2084
3165 Old King Road
Flagler Beach,
Florida 32110
The Bulow Plantation, also referred to as BulowVille, is a significant historical site located in what is now Flagler County, Florida, preserved within the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park. This antebellum sugar plantation, established in 1821 and destroyed in 1836 during the Second Seminole War, offers a window into the economic, social, and cultural dynamics of early 19th-century East Florida, as well as the volatile frontier conditions of the period.
In 1821, Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow, a wealthy merchant from
Charleston, South Carolina, acquired approximately 4,675 acres
of wilderness along a tidal creek, later named Bulow Creek,
about 40 miles south of St. Augustine. Some sources suggest he
may have controlled up to 9,000 acres through additional land
acquisitions. This period followed the United States’
acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1821, a time when the
region was transitioning from Spanish to American control, and
plantation economies were expanding due to global demand for
commodities like sugar, cotton, rice, and indigo.
Bulow,
not the eldest son in his family and thus unable to inherit his
father’s full fortune, sought to establish his own wealth in
Florida’s fertile frontier. Using the forced labor of enslaved
Africans and African Americans—estimated at 150 to 400
individuals, with some accounts suggesting up to 300 were
brought from his brother’s South Carolina holdings—he cleared
2,200 acres for cultivation. The plantation grew sugar cane as
its primary crop, alongside cotton, rice, and indigo, with sugar
being the most profitable due to its high value and versatility
(used for molasses, rum, and refined sugar).
Charles
Bulow died in 1823 at age 44, leaving the plantation to his
17-year-old son, John Joachim Bulow. John, educated in Paris
from age five, returned to Florida to manage the estate. Under
his leadership, and with the oversight of manager Francisco
Pellicer Jr., the plantation prospered, becoming the largest
sugar plantation in East Florida.
The Bulow Plantation was a sophisticated agricultural and
industrial operation for its time, centered around sugar
production. Its infrastructure reflected the technological and
economic ambitions of the Bulow family:
Sugar Mill:
The plantation’s sugar mill, constructed around 1831, was the
largest in East Florida and built from coquina, a local
sedimentary rock made of fossilized shells. The mill was
steam-powered, a cutting-edge technology for the era, requiring
significant quantities of wood to fuel its boilers.
The mill
processed sugar cane into raw sugar, molasses, and rum. The
“Jamaica Train,” a series of kettles used to boil cane juice,
was a key component of the sugar-making process, operated by
enslaved laborers under grueling conditions.
The mill’s
coquina walls and chimneys, some of which still stand, were
designed for durability and survived the 1836 fire that
destroyed much of the plantation. Its ruins are now listed on
the National Register of Historic Places (1970).
Plantation House:
The main plantation house was a two-story
mansion, likely constructed with coquina and timber, serving as
the residence for the Bulow family and a symbol of their wealth.
Only its crumbling foundation remains today.
The house was
surrounded by 46 slave cabins arranged in a semicircular
pattern, a layout that facilitated surveillance and control over
the enslaved population.
Slave Cabins:
The 46 cabins
housed 197 enslaved men, women, and children, as documented in
the 1830 census. These cabins were modest, likely made of wood,
and their foundations are among the ruins visible today.
Archaeological excavations (2014–2018) have uncovered artifacts
like charred corncobs and corn kernels in cabin sites,
indicating the sudden destruction of these living spaces during
the 1836 Seminole attack.
Spring House and Wells:
A
unique spring house, built to protect a freshwater source, and
several wells provided water for the plantation’s operations and
residents. The spring house remains a notable feature of the
ruins.
These structures highlight the plantation’s
self-sufficiency, critical in the remote Florida frontier.
Transportation and Trade:
Bulow Creek, a tidal waterway,
facilitated transportation. Flatboats carried barrels of sugar
and molasses down the creek to coastal ports for shipment to
northern markets.
The plantation’s location along the Old
Kings Road, a 16-foot-wide crushed-shell highway, connected it
to other settlements and markets.
The plantation’s operations
relied heavily on the expertise of enslaved laborers, who were
skilled in agriculture, construction, and sugar processing. The
harsh conditions of their work, particularly in the sugar mill,
and the oppressive system of enslavement underscored the
plantation’s economic success.
The Bulow Plantation was a microcosm of the antebellum South’s
complex social hierarchy and racial dynamics:
The Bulow
Family:
Charles Bulow was a merchant with transatlantic
connections, and his son John was cosmopolitan, fluent in
French, and educated in Paris. John’s management of the
plantation at a young age demonstrated his capability, though
his youth and inexperience may have contributed to the
unpredictability of life at BulowVille.
John Bulow hosted
notable visitors, including the naturalist John James Audubon,
who stayed at the plantation from December 25, 1831, to January
1832. Audubon, researching for his Birds of America, used
BulowVille as a base for expeditions, and his painting of the
Greater Yellowlegs features plantation buildings in the
background. Audubon and Bulow, both French speakers, reportedly
bonded over hunting and drinking.
Enslaved Community:
The enslaved population, numbering between 150 and 400, was the
backbone of the plantation’s economy. The 1830 census recorded
197 individuals living in 46 cabins, including men, women, and
children.
Archaeological research by scholars like James
Davidson of the University of Florida has highlighted the
horrific conditions of enslavement at BulowVille. Unlike more
predictable plantation regimes, Bulow’s management was described
as erratic, adding to the terror of enslaved life.
The
cabins’ semicircular arrangement around the mansion suggests a
deliberate design to monitor and control the enslaved
population, reflecting the plantation’s reliance on surveillance
and coercion.
Relations with the Seminoles:
John Bulow
maintained a relatively peaceful relationship with the Seminole
Indians, engaging in trade and coexisting with them. This
contrasted with the U.S. government’s policy of forcibly
removing Seminoles to reservations west of the Mississippi
River, a policy Bulow opposed.
His sympathy for the Seminoles
led to a dramatic confrontation in December 1835, when he fired
a four-pound cannon (likely with powder only) at a U.S. militia
unit, the “Mosquito Roarers,” led by Major Benjamin A. Putnam,
as they attempted to occupy the plantation. Bulow was briefly
arrested and held under house arrest.
The Second Seminole War (1835–1842), sparked by U.S. efforts to
remove the Seminole people from Florida, was a turning point for
Bulow Plantation. In December 1835, as Seminole resistance
intensified, the militia occupied BulowVille, intending to use
its sturdy coquina buildings as a fortified base. John Bulow’s
resistance to this occupation led to his brief imprisonment.
By January 1836, the situation deteriorated. With Seminole
attacks escalating and many militia members falling ill, the
troops, along with Bulow, enslaved laborers, and other refugees,
abandoned the plantation in a midnight evacuation on January 23,
1836, traveling 10 miles north to the Hernandez St. Joseph’s
Plantation. Bulow was not permitted to retrieve his valuables
during this retreat.
Around January 11–31, 1836, Seminole
warriors, possibly joined by some enslaved individuals who
rebelled, burned BulowVille to the ground, along with other
plantations along the Old Kings Road. The attack was not
specifically targeted at Bulow but was part of a broader
Seminole retaliation against U.S. settlers and the plantation
system. The fire destroyed the mansion, slave cabins, and other
wooden structures, leaving only the coquina sugar mill, spring
house, wells, and some foundations intact.
John Bulow,
devastated by the loss, relocated to St. Augustine. On April 1,
1836, he filed a claim for losses due to the militia’s
occupation and the Seminole destruction, but he died shortly
after on May 7, 1836, at age 26, likely from cirrhosis or
another wasting disease. He was buried in St. Augustine, though
the exact location is unknown. The plantation was never rebuilt,
and the cleared fields were reclaimed by the forest, restoring
the landscape to a state resembling its pre-plantation
appearance.
The Bulow Plantation remained in the Bulow family until 1945,
when the Florida Park Service acquired the property. In 1957, it
was designated a State Historic Park, and in 1970, the sugar
mill ruins were added to the National Register of Historic
Places. Today, the 150-acre Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic
State Park preserves the site as a monument to the rise and fall
of East Florida’s sugar plantations and a place for reflection
on the region’s complex history.
Modern Features of the
Park:
Ruins and Interpretive Center: Visitors can explore the
coquina sugar mill ruins, spring house, wells, and foundations
of the mansion and slave cabins. The interpretive center houses
artifacts and exhibits detailing the plantation’s history,
including the lives of enslaved people and the Seminole War.
Trails and Recreation: A scenic walking trail leads to the sugar
mill, and the 6.8-mile Bulow Woods Trail connects to Bulow Creek
State Park, passing the 2,000-year-old Fairchild Oak. Bulow
Creek, a designated State Canoe Trail, offers canoeing,
kayaking, and fishing opportunities.
Picnic and Event
Facilities: A picnic area and screened pavilion along Bulow
Creek are popular for family reunions and events. The park hosts
reenactments, such as demonstrations of sugarcane grinding and
Seminole War events.
Wildlife and Ecology: The park is home
to bald eagles, swallow-tailed kites, Florida manatees, and
diverse bird species, with its oak hammock and creek providing a
rich natural setting.
Archaeological Significance:
Excavations from 2014 to 2018 have deepened understanding of the
plantation, particularly the experiences of enslaved people.
Findings like charred corncobs in cabin sites provide tangible
evidence of the 1836 destruction.
The site is a key focus for
scholars studying the archaeology of enslavement, revealing the
harsh realities of plantation life and the unpredictability of
Bulow’s management.
Cultural Reflection:
The ruins
stand as a testament to the economic ambitions of the plantation
system, the brutality of slavery, and the resistance of the
Seminole people. They also highlight the fragility of frontier
enterprises in the face of conflict.
The park’s interpretive
materials and signage emphasize the human stories of the
plantation, including the contributions and suffering of
enslaved laborers and the Seminole perspective on the land they
considered theirs.
Location: 3501 Old Kings Road, Flagler Beach, FL 32136, three
miles west of Flagler Beach off County Road 2001, between State Road
100 and Old Dixie Highway.
Access: The park is open Thursday
through Monday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and closed Tuesday and
Wednesday. Admission is $4 per vehicle.
Tips: Wear walking shoes,
bring bug spray, water, and a camera. The unpaved entrance road
enhances the sense of stepping into “Old Florida.”
Activities:
Explore the ruins, hike the trails, picnic by Bulow Creek, or paddle
the canoe trail. Guided tours are available on weekends, and special
events include historical reenactments.