Camping trip to Tomoka State Park

The confluence of the Halifax and Tomoka Rivers - Photo: Still Gravity.
The confluence of the Halifax and Tomoka Rivers - License our images here.        

Small state park between rivers and marshes in the east coast of Northern Florida. 

The expedition of Álvaro Mexía in 1605 mentions an Indian village near the point of the photo. This was the Timucuan town of Nocoroco, the first Indian settlement south of the city of St. Augustine at that time. 

In 1766 the area of the former Indian village became part of the Mount Oswald Plantation. Its owner was Richard Oswald, a rich Scottish trader that bought a big tract of land from the British government. 

Oswald participated in the peace negotiations at the end of the American Revolution, signing an agreement with John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Henry Laurens in 1782.  

The Mount Oswald Plantation was abandoned when the British left Florida in 1785. 

Chief Tomokie statue in the spot of the village - Photo: Still Gravity.
The statue of Chief Tomokie by the spot of the village.

This 45-foot-tall monument was built in the 1950's. It depicts Chief Tomokie attacked by his tribe after committing a sacrilege. Not sure about the source of this tale. The Timucuan didn't leave much behind. 

We also found a burial stone inside this park. 

John Addison stone grave in Tomoka State Park - Photo: Still Gravity.
We found a grave in the park.        

It's from John Addison, another early settler. This man bought land here in 1816 thanks to a Spanish grant. He built a plantation named Carrickfergus for his birthplace in Ireland. He died in 1825, and the Indians destroyed his plantation ten years later during the Second Seminole War. 

(Close to the park, there are the remains of a sugar mill burnt by the Indians during this war.) 

Bikes in a campsite of Tomoka State Park - Photo: Still Gravity.
Our sandy campsite.  

We had to cut short our camping stay in Tomoka State Park. The Rangers ordered to evacuate because of the upcoming Hurricane Idalia. No time to go to the beaches of the Atlantic. 

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