As part of Black History month, Fort Frederica hosted an African American Heritage Festival on February 29. The day was cold and blustery but clear and we had almost 900 visitors. Anytime we host a special event, it requires a lot of behind the scenes work by the volunteers. Denise and Bob Verba, especially, stayed …
From National Parks
Fourth Letters to London Post: Jr. Rangers
This is our fourth year at Fort Frederica National Monument and my fourth post about the Letters to London that the Jr. Rangers write. During March and April, more than 300 Jr. Rangers complete the program at Fort Frederica. It will be interesting to see if families keep to their plans and come to the …
Keeping the Park Open and Visitors Center Closed
Last week, after several weeks of constant cleaning, Fort Frederica decided it was keeping the park open and closing the Visitors Center for the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic. We tried keeping the Visitors Center open and limiting the number of people in it at a time. But I was still (as the inside person) …
Invasive Species in the National Parks
Invasive species in the national parks are a problem throughout the park system. Azaleas brought in as landscaping plants or camphor trees planted to slow down erosion are two examples of invasive species at Fort Frederica. Most national park sites are working to eliminate invasive species and their impact on the environment. At Fort Frederica …
Trail Blazing to Oglethorpe’s House
Last week I wrote about finding and excavating the foundation of James Oglethorpe‘s house. If Fort Frederica National Monument is going to have tours to his house, then we need a trail. And Tom and Tim were tasked with that trail blazing. The land between the current developed park and Oglethorpe’s house was recently acquired …
James Oglethorpe Slept Here
Whenever I do my road cleanup, I see a monument dedicated to James Oglethorpe. The monument, hidden in the weeds and moss along Frederica Road, states that James Oglethorpe’s only house in the colonies was located here at the monument. In other words, James Oglethorpe, founder of the colony of Georgia, slept here. Only the …
School Groups from Camp Jekyll
One thing that has kept us busy at Fort Frederica is the school groups visiting from Camp Jekyll. Between 25 and 100 kids visit us every week from Camp Jekyll and we try to make sure they have a good experience. Camp Jekyll is a 4-H camp on Jekyll Island. It is owned by the …
Textile Talk at Fort Frederica National Monument
This is our fourth year at Fort Frederica National Monument and the third year I have been giving my textile talk. Each year I add a little more. The first year I demonstrated spinning and gradually built up my textile table talk. The second year Ranger Michael bought me a little toy loom that I …
Kingsley Heritage Celebration
When I wrote about the Kingsley Plantation a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea I would be going back to it a week later for the Kingsley Heritage Celebration. Many of the National Parks celebrate some kind of African American Heritage event during February. Fort Frederica will have an African American Heritage Day …
Split Rail Fences at Fort Frederica National Monument
Things have really been happening here at Fort Frederica National Monument. Split rail fences going up. Dead trees taken down. Things being built and fixed. We may not have many rangers here, but the volunteers and maintenance staff are really going to town on different projects. This last week volunteers Denise and Bob Verba put …