Near Fruit Cove in St. Johns County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Beluthahatchee

(Miccosukee, "Dark Water")

Photographed by Mike Stroud, December 2, 2012

1. Beluthahatchee Marker

Inscription. "Beluthahatchee" as defined by noted author Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) is a mythical "Florida Shangri-la, where all unpleasantness is forgiven and forgotten." When Florida author/activist Stetson Kennedy (b. 1916) moved here, the site was named and set aside as a wildlife sanctuary. After WWII, he infiltrated and exposed the KKK and other domestic terrorist groups. Kennedy's books include Palmetto Country (1942), Southern Exposure (1946), Jim Crow Guide (1956), and The Klan Unmasked (1957). The latter two were translated around the world. This site served as headquarters for his pioneering 1950 "total equality" write-in bid for the U.S. Senate. His book, After Appomattox, was completed here in 1995, with the help of his wife Joyce Ann. That year he won the Gustavus Meyer Award for doing the most to combat bigotry in the USA. In April 2005 Kennedy was inducted into the Florida Artist's Hall of Fame. Beluthahatchee also served as a Florida hangout for America's legendary folk balladeer, Woody Guthrie. Here, Guthrie completed his autobiographical book, Seeds of Man, and over 80 Florida songs, including "Beluthahatchee Bill." This site was designated a Literary Landmark by Friends of Library-USA in 2003.
A Florida Heritage Site

Erected

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2005 by St Johns County Board of County Commissioners and Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-553.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights • Environment • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical month for this entry is April 2005.

Location. 30° 5.351′ N, 81° 37.812′ W. Marker is near Fruit Cove, Florida, in St. Johns County. It is on Cricket Hollow Lane (State Road 13) near Wedgewood Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1519 Cricket Hollow Ln, Saint Johns FL 32259, 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.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

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: History of Beluthahatchee (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Beluthahatchee (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named History of Beluthahatchee (about 600 feet away); Welcome to Beluthahatchee Park (about 600 feet away); Woody Guthrie (about 600 feet away); Stetson Kennedy (about 600 feet away); St. Johns County / New Switzerland Plantation (approx. 1.4 miles away); Alpine Groves (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fruit Cove.

Also see . . .
1. Beluthahatchee Park. Visit St. Augustine entry (Submitted on October 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Beluthahatchee Marker, looking north along Florida Route 13 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, December 2, 2012

2. Beluthahatchee Marker, looking north along Florida Route 13

2. Stetson Kennedy. Wikipedia biography (Submitted on October 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)

Beluthahatchee Marker, looking south image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, December 2, 2012

3. Beluthahatchee Marker, looking south

Beluthahatchee image. Click for full size.

Photographed by NY Times Associated Press

4. Beluthahatchee

Stetson Kennedy, in 2003, with a World War I rifle that belonged to his friend Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c30859.

5. Woody Guthrie

... Florida, where friend and fellow activist Stetson Kennedy offered blacklisted artists living space on his property. While in the South at Kennedy’s “Beluthahatchee”, Woody worked on a third novel, Seeds of Man, and composed songs inspired by a heightened awareness of racial and environmental issues.(Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 22, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,135 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 5, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.