Tag Archives: National Memorial

Fort Caroline National Memorial

December 2, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

After a failed settlement by persecuted French Protestants (Huguenots) in 1562, two years later a group of 200 soldiers, artisans, and a few women established a colony at the mouth of the St. Johns River (east of present-day Jacksonville, Florida). Led by René de Goulaine de Laudonnière, they hurriedly assembled the triangular Fort Caroline, named for King Charles IX. In 1565, Jean Ribault arrived with 600 more settlers and soldiers. After learning the Catholic Spanish had established a base to the south at St. Augustine, Ribault set sail for a surprise attack, only to be shipwrecked by a hurricane. The unprotected Fort Caroline was easily captured by the Spanish, who executed 140 of its 200 inhabitants. The Spanish then killed the majority of the 250 French marooned at Matanzas Inlet, which gained its name from these “slaughters.”

Highlights

Museum, reconstructed fort, Hammock Trail, Ribault Monument

Must-Do Activity

The National Park Service (NPS) administers Fort Caroline National Memorial (established in 1950) as a unit of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (established in 1988). Start your visit at the NPS museum, which provides information on the indigenous Timucuan, as well as the European colonization efforts. After walking the Hammock Trail to see the reconstructed fort, drive to the nearby Ribault Monument, a replica of a stone column left by Jean Ribault at the mouth of the St. Johns River on May 2, 1562.

Best Trail

Within this 139-acre National Memorial, the Hammock Trail visits the reconstructed fort along the St. Johns River. Starting from two parking lots south of Fort Caroline Road several trails explore Spanish Pond and the Theodore Roosevelt Area of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The actual site of the original fort has never been found (and is probably underwater), but you can tour a one-third scale reconstruction of the triangular structure based upon a drawing from 1564 by French artist Jacques le Moyne. The French got a measure of revenge in 1568 when they attacked and burned Spanish-controlled Fort Caroline, but they could not take St. Augustine and never colonized Florida again.

Peak Season

Winter when there is less mosquito activity.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/foca_visiting.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Little Talbot Island State Park and Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park (run by the city of Jacksonville) both have campgrounds.

Related Sites

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve (Florida)

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (Florida)

Fort Matanzas National Monument (Florida)

Explore More – When the Spanish took control of Fort Caroline in 1565, what did they rename it?

Florida

De Soto National Memorial

February 19, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Why create a memorial to a genocidal Conquistador when he was not the first Spaniard to land in Florida? Good question. Juan Pónce de León and Pánfilo de Narváez had both already met their demise in this region, but that did not deter Hernando de Soto from trying again in 1539. He did not die until three years later, after he led his soldiers all the way to the Mississippi River leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

Highlights

Camp Ucita, film, Memorial Trail, Holy Eucharist Monument

Must-Do Activity

De Soto made landfall in Florida somewhere in the vicinity of modern-day Bradenton, Florida where the Manatee River reaches Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. He left behind 100 men there in Camp Ucita, a replica of which was built on the site of the 27-acre De Soto National Memorial. In the winter (a.k.a. touristy) months, costumed interpreters work at the replica Camp Ucita.

Best Trail

Hike the half-mile Memorial Trail through the mangroves to the Holy Eucharist Monument. Then cool off in the air-conditioned visitor center to watch a 22-minute film on the Spanish expedition.

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you visit around Halloween, a scary skeleton Conquistador atop a skeleton horse will greet you at the entrance to the National Park Service visitor center.

Peak Season

Winter

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/deso/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

A paved road leads through a residential neighborhood to the visitor center, so watch out for dog walkers and joggers on the road and trail.

Camping

Myakka River State Park is southeast of Bradenton (where private campgrounds are also available).

Camp Ucita
A depiction of the fateful landing
Tiff walking along the nature trail
Trees along the Manatee River
Scott with Spanish moss
Scott along the banks of the Manatee River
Native Floridian dress in 1539
Tiff at the De Soto Monument
Tiff dressed up as a Conquistador

Explore More – The Spaniards brought many diseases to the indigenous peoples, but the introduction of which domesticated animal had the longest lasting ecological impact?

District of Columbia

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

January 2, 2019 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial is a series of sculptures representative of the variety of struggles he faced during his twelve years as President. Opened in 1997, this unique memorial is appropriately wheelchair-accessible. After contracting polio at age 39, the future President would never walk again without assistance, but that disability gave him the courage to lead the nation through the Great Depression and World War II.

Highlights

1930s breadline statue by George Segal, FDR in a wheelchair statue

Must-Do Activity

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) dedicated the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on April 13, 1943, exactly 200 years after Jefferson’s birth. The nearby memorial to FDR is not such a grand and imposing coliseum, but is more approachable and unassuming as it winds past small waterfalls and statues depicting FDR’s four terms as President. Here two great Presidents are remembered in two very different, but equally eloquent ways.

Best Trail

The Inlet Bridge connects a walking trail between the FDR Memorial and Thomas Jefferson Memorial which passes some of Washington, D.C.’s famous Japanese cherry trees.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The memorial is on the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River, so it is a great place to see reflections of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, especially when it is lit up at night.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

Open 24 hours a day, NPS rangers present 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved and street parking is available near the memorial

Camping

None

Explore More – Was any U.S. President other than FDR elected more than twice?

Hawaii

Pearl Harbor National Memorial

December 26, 2018 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

The WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument was created in 2008 and disbanded in 2019. It was composed of three sites in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, California’s Tule Lake Segregation Center National Historic Landmark (now a National Monument), and five sites around Honolulu, Hawaii’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, much better known as Pearl Harbor. It was there that on December 7, 1941, a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy fleet led the country to formally enter World War II.

Highlights

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, museum at Pearl Harbor, U.S.S. Missouri tours

Must-Do Activity

At Pearl Harbor there is a free museum run by the National Park Service and you can pick up free tickets to ferry to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, which was dedicated in 1962. You will be hard pressed to find a more tasteful and solemn war memorial than this one. Tickets can also be purchased to tour the nearby U.S.S. Missouri battleship and U.S.S. Bowfin submarine.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The wreckage of the U.S.S. Arizona battleship serves as the graves for 1,102 sailors and Marines who were on board when it sunk, and it still leaks black “tears” of oil that leave a rainbow sheen on the water’s surface.

Peak Season

Year round, especially on and around December 7.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/valr/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

Free entry to the museum and free timed tickets for the ferry to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial available to the first 1,300 people each day or by reservation. Tickets can also be purchased to tour the nearby U.S.S. Missouri battleship and U.S.S. Bowfin submarine.

Road Conditions

All roads paved, though parking is limited at the Pearl Harbor site.

Camping

Private and county campgrounds can be found on Oahu Island outside the city of Honolulu.

Pearl Harbor from the air
Tiff at the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2016.
USS Bowfin submarine
Original draft of President Roosevelt’s December 7, 1941 speech
The 184-foot-long U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was dedicated in 1962.
Names of 1,102 sailors and Marines can be found in the chapel within the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.