Planning Wakulla’s Pioneer Village

Plans are moving forward for a pioneer village to showcase Wakulla’s historic homes and old time way-of-life.  A first meeting on September 28th brought together a cross-section of county residents eager to help shape the village.  A second meeting will be held on Thursday, November 8th at 3:00 p.m. at the Wakulla Public Library.  Anyone with interest in the Pioneer Village is invited to attend.

Wakulla’s Historical Village is the brainchild of Cal Jamison and Betty Green, President of the Wakulla County Historical Society.  Sheryl Mosley, Park Facilities Coordinator with the Wakulla County Parks & Recreation Department, is coordinating the planning process.  The Wakulla County Commission has provided a site for the village on county land in Medart near the intersection of Lawhon Mill and Floyd Gray roads.  A topographic survey of the site will be obtained soon.  Kathy Shirah, of Shirah Engineering & Design, has volunteered to help create the site plan.  Numerous historic homes are waiting to be moved to the site. 

{sidebar id=1}Participants in the September 28th meeting included families with deep roots in the county whose homesteads will be included in the village such as Murray & Daryl McLaughlin, S.A. Coxwell, and Myers Carter.  Brent Thurmond, Clerk of Court, attended the meeting as did Kathy Shirah, John Shuff, who is restoring the old County Courthouse, and Nelson Martin, who restored the historic Towles house now located in Sopchoppy.  Others present included members of the Historical Society and members of the Florida Native Plant Society such as Betty Green, Cal Jamison, Lynn Artz, & Elinor Elfner.  Other interested persons are welcome to join the group.

On October 26th, Sheryl Mosley led a small contingent of the planning group on a field trip to the site.  The site, bordered by U.S. Forest Service land, contains both uplands and wetlands.  While few old-growth trees remain, the group did see beautiful live oaks, cabbage palms, and bald cypress trees.  Every effort will be made to preserve native trees, shrubs, & wildflowers as site development proceeds.

At the November 8th meeting, Cal Jamison will show a video that describes how the Pioneer Village in Westville was created.  Sheryl Mosley will describe the requirements for the grant application being prepared for submission this coming spring.  There also will be an opportunity for those present to offer their ideas for the village.

If you cannot attend the meeting on November 8th but want to submit suggestions or receive future email communications, please contact Lynn Artz at <lynn_artz@hotmail.com>.  If you do not have access to email, please telephone Cal Jamison at 926-5686 or Sheryl Mosley at 926-7227.

Please save any relics your family may have from yesteryear.  Everything from turpentining to farming to worm grunting to syrup making is of potential interest.  So are local handmade furniture, quilts, kitchen implements, vintage clothing, and such.  Old wagons, ploughs, and trade tools are also sought.  In addition to artifacts, the pioneer village needs information – information about the homes, the trades, and the families that lived and worked in Wakulla many years ago.  Please contact Betty Green (926-7405; bgreen@nettally.com), Cal Jamison (926-5686; caljamison@msn.com), or Sheryl Mosley (926-7227; sheryl.mosley@wcprd.com) before destroying or disposing of any items or information that might be useful to the Pioneer Village.

Pictured above (L to R):  Sheryl Mosley, John Whitten, Cal Jamison, Lynn Artz, and Nelson Martin.  Not pictured:  Kathy Shirah and Elinor Elfner. 

- Article Submitted by Lynn Artz
- Photo Courtesy of Cal Jamison

This article originally published on November 2, 2007.

Written by :

Lynn Artz

 

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