We reserved two nights at Torreya State Park, near Rock
Bluff Florida. Mary and I enjoyed an early morning walk on all the paved roads in the park. There were signs that the trails could contain snakes, so we avoided them!
We walked to The Gregory House. It is a beautiful Southern mansion built in 1849 by prominent Calhoun County planter Jason Gregory. Originally stood across the Apalachicola River from the park at Ocheesee Landing. When first built, it stood atop 5-foot-high brick pillars, an architectural feature that kept the interior of the home safe from the annual floods of the river. Gregory's plantation prospered until the beginning of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.
During the Civil War, Confederate army and navy officers occasionally visited the home. Some of the victims of the explosion of the ill-fated Confederate gunboat C.S.S. Chattahoochee were brought there for care until they could be carried upriver to Columbus, Georgia. The war was not profitable for Gregory's plantation. He moved away, and over time the house fell into disrepair. Although one of his daughters moved back for a time and restored the home, it had become dilapidated by the time Torreya State Park was created during the 1930s.
Eventually the Neal Lumber Co. took ownership of the home and donated it to the new Torreya State Park. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps disassembled the entire building and moved it across the river to its present location in the park. The high bluffs overlooking the Apalachicola River make this park
one of Florida's most scenic places. It was developed by the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. Hiking and birdwatching are the most popular
activities here. There are over 100 species of birds have been spotted in the
park.
The park is named for an extremely rare species of Torreya
tree that grows only on the bluffs along the Apalachicola River. The park’s
high plateaus, steep bluffs and deep ravines are covered with a forest that
harbors a variety of rare plants and animals. Many of them are more common
farther north than this location.
We took a drive today and went through Bristol, Florida.
Bristol was first settled and became the county seat in 1859. When the town was
first settled it included one store, three sawmills, three gristmills, a hotel,
several churches, and a population of 300. Mail was brought in by boat and the
principal exports were cotton, oranges, honey, beeswax, and hides.
Located not far from Bristol in Liberty County, is the
Garden of Eden Trail. It is
part of the 6,295-acre Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. The Nature
Conservancy built the trail with the help of an army of volunteers over a
number of years. I would have loved to stop, but checking out the reviews, it
was not in the cards with Charlie & Gerry with us. If Mary had not walked
with me this morning, she might have been game. But the reviews said the trail
was more like 5-mile, not the 3.75-mile hike the web site states.
We enjoyed lunch in Blountstown, a town we will pass through
tomorrow. So, I won’t share much today other than to say we enjoyed pizza and
salad lunch, and Jody was the best waitress around!
Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow! #TwoLaneAdventures
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