Prospect Bluff Historic Sites

Public Safety Notice: Effective July 2023, this area is temporarilly closed due to Hurricane damage receovery and restoration projects.

Proposed Changes to Recreation Fees Identified by the National Forests in Florida

The National Forests in Florida is proposing to charge a new recreation fee at one developed recreation site on the forest.

In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) which allows the Forest Service to retain funds collected at certain recreation sites and use these funds locally to operate, maintain, and improve these sites. At least eighty percent of the revenue from recreation fees remains on the forests to operate, maintain, and improve facilities. Raising the revenue collected through recreation fees would allow for the establishment of new host sites. The fees would also provide for improved maintenance of a culturally significant site. The resource derived through collection of fees helps provide quality recreation opportunities that meet the modern expectations of visitors and creates a more financial sustainable developed recreation program for the benefit of future generations.

These fee changes will be reviewed by a resource advisory committee. Committee members represent a broad array of recreation interest groups to help ensure that the Forest Service is proposing reasonable and publicly acceptable new fees and fee changes.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed fee changes to the developed recreation program. The comment period is set to end by close of business on October 1, 2024.  To ensure that your comments are considered, please send your comments no later than the above date to National Forests in Florida, Attention: Derrick Washington, 325 John Knox Road, Bldg F, Suite 210 Tallahassee, FL 32303 or derrick.washington@usda.gov. Comments can also be provided online at https://arcg.is/1Gu8zH1.

Oral comments must be provided in person at the National Forests in Florida to James Lindsay during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) or by calling 850-523-8500 and indicating you would like to provide comments on the proposed recreation fee changes. For more information on the proposed project, visit our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/florida/home.

Once public involvement is complete, the proposed fee changes will be reviewed by a Resource Advisory Committee, who will submit their recommendation to the Regional Forester for a final decision.

Prospect Bluff Historic Sites

The site of two successive forts, the first built during the War of 1812 by the British, and of the tragic massacre of more than 300 African-Americans who held the fort under the British flag in 1816, Prospect Bluff played an important role in Florida history. Located along the Apalachicola River, this interpretive area offers detailed information about the site and its history along with trails, river access and a picnic area.

Built during the War of 1812, the British Fort was placed in a strategic spot along the Apalachicola River, which was the "highway for commerce" in those pre-road, pre-railroad days.

On July 27, 1816, U.S. Navy forces led by Colonel Duncan Clinch fired on what was then called "The Negro Fort." One of the early shots from the ship's guns landed on an ammunition shed inside the fort, resulting in a massive explosion which left only 33 survivors to tell the tale.

In 1818, Lt. James Gadsden oversaw construction of a new fort on the site as a U.S. fort in the heart of Spanish territory, under the auspices of Major General Andrew Jackson. This fort, Fort Gadsden, remained in use until 1821, when Florida became a U.S. Territory.

Detailed interpretive kiosks and signs lead you through the site of both forts and the cemetery where the victims from 1816 are buried.

Prospect Bluff is not accessible by boat. Since the site is extremely culturally significant, we need to preserve the area around the historic location. 

At a Glance