St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Fish Island Plantation

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 18, 2023

1. Fish Island Plantation Marker

Inscription. Fish Island is named for Jesse Fish, of British descent, who arrived in St. Augustine in 1736. Fish was a slave-owner and purchased enslaved Africans to work his groves and other properties, eventually owning at least 133 people. By the mid-1700s, the area was part of his large commercial orange plantation on Anastasia Island called El Vergel (orchard/garden). Fruit from 3,000 trees, noted for sweetness and thin skins, was shipped as far as London. On Fish Island, he built a home of native coquina stone, establishing outbuildings, canals, wells, a boat basin, and a wharf. These are now archaeological features, along with pottery and oyster shell debris left by Native Americans in prehistoric times. Fish was buried here in 1790, and likely others as well. Late 1800s visitors described mansion ruins, pathways, fields, furrows, and aged orange trees. This archaeologically and historically significant island links Florida’s orange history, plantation life, and trans-Atlantic slave trade in early St. Augustine. Supported by the Friends of Fish Island, it was purchased by the State in 2019 and is managed by the City of St. Augustine.

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The Fish Island Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A Florida Heritage Site

Erected 2022 by The City of St. Augustine and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1196.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Anthropology & Archaeology • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1736.

Location. 29° 51.857′ N, 81° 17.911′ W. Marker is in St. Augustine, Florida, in St. Johns County. It is on Plantation Island Drive South just south of Florida Route 312, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located in the parking area for Fish Island Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1429 Plantation Island Drive South, Saint Augustine FL 32080, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in First Coast

and in Greater Jacksonville.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 18, 2023

2. Fish Island Plantation Marker

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Old Spanish Chimney and Well (approx. 1.1 miles away); The St. Augustine Amphitheatre (approx. 1.2 miles away); William Bartram Trail (approx. 1.2 miles away); Meldrim Cottage (approx. 1.3 miles away); Quarry Creek (approx. 1.3 miles away); Spanish Mining of the Quarry (approx. 1.3 miles away); Davis Shores (approx. 1.3 miles away); Changing Times in the Quarry (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Augustine.

Also see . . . Fish Island Preserve. (Submitted on July 30, 2023, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 30, 2023, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,041 times since then and 85 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 30, 2023, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.