Addison Blockhouse Historic State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located in Volusia County, Florida. It features the Addison Blockhouse, a small

coquina Coquina () is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term ''coquina'' comes from the S ...

rock ruin that was on a 19th-century

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

and served as a kitchen as well as a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

. To preserve its cultural heritage, the site is not open to the public. The park is accessible by boat going across the

Tomoka River The Tomoka River is a north-flowing river in Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County, Florida, United States. It drains an area of about and has a length of .U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe ...

History

The Addison Blockhouse was built on a 19th-century plantation called Carrickfergus, established by John Moultrie. The blockhouse was originally an outside kitchen for Moultrie's

overseer Overseer may refer to: Professions *Supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others *Plantations_in_the_American_South#Overseer, Plantation overseer, often in the context of forced labor or Treatment_of_slaves ...

. Later the plantation was owned by John Addison, and then Duncan McRae. The plantation grew cotton and sugar from 1816 to 1836. During the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

, the plantation was attacked on March 10, 1836. Two soldiers were killed and scalped at the site. The blockhouse was fortified by the Carolina Regiment of Volunteers to defend against the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s, and became known as "Camp M'Rae". The plantation struggled financially and was later abandoned. The blockhouse was restored in the early 20th century, and has since been owned and maintained by

Tomoka State Park Tomoka State Park is an Florida State Park located along the Tomoka River, three miles (5 km) north of Ormond Beach on North Beach Street. Fauna Among the wildlife of the park are West Indian manatees, alligators, white-tailed deer, g ...

.Wayne 2010, p. 169

Description

The Addison Blockhouse is now a roofless ruin. It is about 11.5 feet by 15 feet in size. It contains a circular tower in one corner, 6 feet in diameter and 11 feet in height, as well as a large

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

. It has six foot walls with an embankment and

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

. There is also an adjacent foundation and walls of a

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

from 1832 during the time McRae owned the plantation.

References

External links

Official page at Florida State ParksFlorida Seminole Wars Heritage Trail
{{Protected Areas of Florida State parks of Florida Parks in Volusia County, Florida Second Seminole War fortifications Protected areas established in 1945 1945 establishments in Texas

History

Description

See also

References

External links