The
Fort Caroline National Memorial is located in the Timucuan Preserve, as is the
Kingsley Plantation, the oldest standing plantation in the state. The Preserve is maintained through cooperation by the
National Park Service, the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Jacksonville Department of Parks and Recreation, which partner to support the Timucuan Parks Foundation. It is named for the
Timucua Indians who had 35
chiefdoms throughout northern Florida and south Georgia at the time of
Spanish colonization.
Archeological excavation by a University of North Florida team has revealed more information about indigenous peoples in the area. On Black Hammock Island, they have discovered remnants of the second-oldest
pottery in the United States, dating to 2500 BCE. (There have been slightly older finds in the
Savannah River area.) They also have excavated more recent artifacts contemporary with the
Mocama chiefdom. In the last 25 years, these Native American people have been recognized as distinct from the Timucua, although they spoke a Timucuan dialect. Their chiefdom extended from the
St. Johns River to
St. Simons Island, Georgia. Archeologists believe they have found evidence of a
Spanish mission on the island as well.
San Juan del Puerto, one of the oldest Spanish missions in Florida, was established here during the 16th century.
Franciscan brothers were
missionaries to the Timucua and
Guale Indians along the coast, whose territory included the
Sea Islands in
Georgia and up to the
Savannah River. On June 9, 2020, the Preserve gained another 2,500 acres of marshland along the Nassau River from two private land trusts.{{cite news ==Trails==