- St. Vincent Island, Florida
St. Vincent Island is the western-most of 4
barrier island s in the northwesternFlorida Gulf coast which includeCape St. George Island ,St. George Island and Dog Island. St. Vincent Island is located just offshore inFranklin County, Florida south southeast ofCape San Blas and north ofCape St. George Island close to the mouth of theApalachicola River and the town of Apalachicola on theFlorida Panhandle .History
St. Vincent was inhabited as far back as 240 A.D. In 1633,
Franciscan Friars named the island while visitingApalachee tribes in the area.In 1750
Creek indians andSeminoles , offshoots of the Creek nation, entered area and inhabited the island.In 1868 George Hatch bought the island.
In 1908, a Dr. Pierce imported Old World game animals to the island. In 1920 the island was use to graze beef cattle sold to Apalachicola markets.
In 1940, the first oyster lease was granted. The Pierce Estate sold first pine saw timber. St. Joe lumber Company built a temporary bridge to island for timber removal.
In 1948, the Loomis brothers bought the island and imported
zebra s,eland s,black buck ,ring-necked pheasant s, Asian jungle fowl,bobwhite quail , and semi-wildturkeys .In 1968 St Vincent was purchased by
Nature Conservancy for $2.2 million.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service repaid the Conservancy with money from Duck Stamp sales and established the island as St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge.Geography
The island is made up of ridges and swales of sand dominated by
live oak and other hardwoods. The oldest sand ridge is about 3000 years old. The island also has tidal marshes, 18 sq. miles (49 km²) of freshwater lakes and streams.Wildlife
St. Vincent is home to numerous shore birds, an abundance of
alligator s, nestingosprey s andbald eagles ,Peregrine falcon s,wood stork sSambar deer (native to Southeast Asia) and the nativewhite-tailed deer . The island is also a haven forendangered species such asLoggerhead sea turtle s,indigo snake s, gopher tortoises and thered wolf .External links
* [http://greennature.com/travel/visit1620.html St. Vincent Island at Green Nature]
* [http://www.forgotten-florida.com/ Forgotten Florida]
* [http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/apalachee.html Apalachee]
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