Digging into county's past

As a breeze rustled the leaves above them and the waters of the Nassau River lapped at the shore, archaeologists were digging in Goffinsville Park March 15 for clues to Nassau County's past.

The workers were taking part in a comprehensive archaeological survey in unincorporated Nassau County. The survey, which will not include the incorporated areas of Callahan, Fernandina Beach and Hilliard, began Feb. 19 and will continue through May 10.

Crew chief Kathy Jackson (left) and field director Micky Hoyt are overseeing a comprehensive archaeological survey of unincorporated Nassau County. AMELIA A. HART/The Times-Union

In the next several months, workers with Bland & Associates, an archaeological and historic preservation consulting firm, will try to find previously unrecorded sites, cemeteries, historic roadways and railroads, battlefields and other cultural resources.

Fieldwork has begun at Goffinsville Park, off County Road 107 in Nassauville.

Working in 1-by 2-meter holes, and digging down in 10-centimeter increments, Bland & Associates crew members are sifting through the Nassauville dirt to find the flotsam and jetsam of people long gone.

Field work for the survey involves sifting through plenty of dirt, as Marcy Welch is doing with a quarter-inch sifter in the search for artifacts. AMELIA A. HART/The Times-Union

Discoveries so far include flakes from stone tools and pottery shards dating back 3,000 years to when Timucuan Indians used the spot as a camp site, Field Director Micky Hoyt said.

Other finds include a pre-Civil War lead percussion ball, and pieces of glassware and bottles from the early to mid-1800s.

Those latter artifacts date to when Goffinsville was a thriving oyster cannery, and a commissary, post office, and workers' homes were at the site. While some of the foundation of the plant, which the Nassau River washed away long ago, is easily visible, Hoyt said the crew also has found the foundation of the old general store.

Archaeological surveys are not uncommon in Nassau County, principal archaeologist Myles Bland said. All construction projects that need federal and state permits are required to do them, he said.

But a comprehensive survey of the unincorporated county has never been conducted, he said. Nassau County is providing $30,000 for the survey, while another $30,000 is coming from a matching historic preservation grant from the National Park Service.

Bland & Associates will provide the county a detailed report of its findings, as well as an updated archaeological registry, and work with the county's Geographical Information System mappers to add a layer to the county's computer maps identifying historic spots.

The information gathered will be extremely useful to the county's Growth Management Department, strategic planner Mark Major said.

"There are so many archaeological sites that we as a department and a county don't know about," Major said. "We'll be in a much firmer position to be able to protect those resources if and when they're identified. Right now, we simply don't know."

And there's likely plenty of unknown history in Nassau County.

Bland said researchers already have identified 44 cemeteries that are not on record with the state. The Spanish Land Grants along the St. Marys River in west Nassau County have not been researched at all, Bland said.

Have information you think would be helpful to the archaeologists? Contact Bland & Associates at 1-800-605-4478,or send an e-mail to MBland@bland.cc.

The discovery of sites of historic interest also could help Nassau County tap into the nation's booming heritage tourism trade, Bland said.

According to a 2003 survey by the Travel Industry Association of America, 81 percent of U.S. adults who traveled in 2002, or 118 million, were considered historic/cultural travelers.

Those travelers included historical or cultural activities on almost 217 million trips, at least 50 miles one-way. That was a 13 percent increase from the 192 million trips in 1996.

A site like Goffinsville Park could be part of a driving tour of historic sites in the county, and could be enhanced with displays explaining the life and times of the people who have lived there, Bland said.

Bland said that by looking to find its irreplaceable past, Nassau County is keeping an eye on the future.

"Once destroyed, you can't replace historic sites," Bland said. "Historic preservation, along with economic preservation, is the wave of the future. You don't want to pave over everything."

Staff writer Amelia A. Hart can be reached at (904) 261-7606, extension 107, or via e-mail at amelia.hartjacksonville.com.