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. (Miccosukee, "Dark Water"). "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 world war two, 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 . ,
"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.)
Location. 30° 5.351′ N, 81° 37.812′ W. Marker is near Fruit Cove, Florida, in St. Johns County. Marker 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.
Also see . . . 1. Beluthahatchee Park. Visit St. Augustine entry (Submitted on October 22, 2020, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
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.)
Photographed By Mike Stroud, December 2, 2012
3. Beluthahatchee Marker, looking south
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.
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 1,222 times since then and 113 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 5, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
