On Saturday, the North Florida African American Corridor Project will present a day honoring the history and heritage of the old Negro Fort at Prospect Bluff Historic Sites, previously called Fort Gadsden Historic Site.
The Historic Site sits on the east bank of the Apalachicola River in Northern Franklin County; It can be found off of Highway 65 about 6 miles south of Sumatra.
It’s the only National Historic Landmark in the southeast located on National Forest Service land.
Fort Gadsden was once a bustling British trading post, and later a recruitment center for escaped slaves and Seminoles until the Fort’s destruction in 1816.
It was destroyed when a cannonball entered the fort’s powder magazine, igniting an explosion that was heard more than 100 miles away, killing all but 30 of the 300 occupants.
It has been called "the single deadliest cannon shot in American history.
On Saturday, there will be a free celebration of Florida's Emancipation Day offering the public a chance to visit and tour the fort, which is normally closed to the public.
Activities will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture & The Arts on Water Street in Apalachicola.
From there, participants will travel to Prospect Bluff for a number of activities, including a tour of the site.
Descendants of individuals who lived at the Negro Fort Settlement will speak as will archaeologists who have studied the historic site.
There will even be lunch served at the site.
Afterward, people will return to Apalachicola for a celebration of Florida's Emancipation Day, featuring an opening exhibit on The Negro Fort, Money Bayou Beach, and the Apalachicola Black Heritage Trail.
The Historic Site sits on the east bank of the Apalachicola River in Northern Franklin County; It can be found off of Highway 65 about 6 miles south of Sumatra.
It’s the only National Historic Landmark in the southeast located on National Forest Service land.
Fort Gadsden was once a bustling British trading post, and later a recruitment center for escaped slaves and Seminoles until the Fort’s destruction in 1816.
It was destroyed when a cannonball entered the fort’s powder magazine, igniting an explosion that was heard more than 100 miles away, killing all but 30 of the 300 occupants.
It has been called "the single deadliest cannon shot in American history.
On Saturday, there will be a free celebration of Florida's Emancipation Day offering the public a chance to visit and tour the fort, which is normally closed to the public.
Activities will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the Apalachicola Center for History, Culture & The Arts on Water Street in Apalachicola.
From there, participants will travel to Prospect Bluff for a number of activities, including a tour of the site.
Descendants of individuals who lived at the Negro Fort Settlement will speak as will archaeologists who have studied the historic site.
There will even be lunch served at the site.
Afterward, people will return to Apalachicola for a celebration of Florida's Emancipation Day, featuring an opening exhibit on The Negro Fort, Money Bayou Beach, and the Apalachicola Black Heritage Trail.
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