Hike to Bulowville

A little south of St. Augustine off Old Kings Road in Flagler Beach is the Buelow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.  A drive down a one lane sand road leads you to the ranger station.  From there you take a short hike under an old growth tree canopy to the ruins.  We felt really out there and back in time and were surprised at the lack of other people.  If you like hiking you can keep right on going on 6.8 miles of cleared trails in this and adjacent Buelow Creek State Park.  The 13 mile Buelow Creek Canoe Trail starts at the ranger station and had canoe's for rent.  Next time maybe.

In 1821 the Buelow family acquired 4,875 acres of wilderness and using slave labor cleared 2,200 acres.  The plan was to grow sugar cane, cotton, rice, and indigo, which makes your Levis blue, and transport the products to St. Augustine by boat for further sale and distribution.  They also turned sugar cane into molasses but did not make rum like some plantations did.  The plan worked until the Second Seminole War when the Indians burned the plantation.  The coquina stone structures, however, are still standing and are in remarkable shape for their age.     http://www.floridastateparks.org/bulowplantation/default.cfm

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