Bulow Plantation

Major Charles Wilhelm Bulow from South Carolina bought the property in 1821 from an heir of a Mr. John Russell who had acquired the land as part of a Spanish Land Grant in c.1812. Bulow’s intent was to establish a plantation. He ended up dying two years later when he was 44 and left the plantation to his son, John Joachim Bulow who was a teenager at the time and in school in France.

In 1823, a brief description was given of Bulow Plantation by James Emanuel Ormond III. He states that there were 300-400 slaves, a library, a large fishing boat, tenets, the plantation house with two separate kitchens, 46 slave houses that were built as a semicircle, a sawmill, corn house, sugar mill and other items too numerous to mention here. The plantation was managed by Minorcan, Francisco Pellicer Jr. Another visitor painted part of Bulow Plantation in the background of his Tell-Tale Godwit (snipe), John James Audubon, who also wrote extensively about his time visiting John Bulow and the graciousness of his reception.

Production on the plantation thrived until the start of the Second Seminole War. John Bulow fired a cannon at Major Putnam’s command of State Militia as they entered his property in protest. Mr. Bulow was arrested. He did not join the military, nor did he approve of the plan to forcibly relocate the Seminoles west of the Mississippi. After the Florida Militia briefly using the plantation as a campsite during the war, it was abandoned. Bulow and his slaves soon followed the military to St. Augustine on January 28, 1836, as it was clear the Seminoles did not differentiate between those who approved the government’s removal plans and those who did not. Bulow Plantation was burned by the Seminoles on January 31, 1836. The fires could be seen all the way up in St. Augustine.

In 1945 the State of Florida purchased the land around the Bulow ruins from a private party. In 1957, the ruins became a state park. On September 29, 1970, the ruins were upgraded to and added to the National Register of Historic Places which is affiliated with the National Park Service.

The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1831): Audubon, John James. The Original Water-Color Paintings by John James Audubon for the Birds of America. Introduction by Marshall B. Davidson. New York: American Heritage/Bonanza Books, 1966.

Photograph 2 (c. 1970s): Bockelman, Charles W. The King's Road to Florida. [Florida]: Self Published, 1975.

Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Bulow Sugar Factory." April 1, 2023.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

“History of Bulowville.” Florida State Parks: The Real Florida. 2024. https://www.floridastateparks.org/learn/history-bulowville.

Ryan, Bill. “Bulow Plantation Ruins.” Flagler County Historical Society: Holden House & Research Library Annex. October 16, 2019. https://flaglercountyhistoricalsociety.com/bulow-plantation-ruins/.

Ryan, Bill. “Notes from the Author on Bulow Plantation.” Flagler County Historical Society: Holden House & Research Library Annex. October 16, 2019. https://flaglercountyhistoricalsociety.com/notes-from-the-author-on-bulow-plantation/.