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  • Port Saint Lucie, Florida: History & Nature Working Together

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    Jeff Macharyas
    458 views16 pages
    Port St. Lucie isn’t exactly known as a center of history. But, there is one area that is rich in ancient Indian history and that of 19th century pioneers. Spruce Bluff Preserve is located in southern Port St. Lucie, in the Southbend Lakes area. There are two paths that loop together onto Lookout Boulevard. To the north is part of the pioneer settlement. The settlers set up a sawmill nearby and farmed citrus in the 1890s until a hard freeze in 1895 put their hopes on ice and sent them packing. The Ais Indian side is accessible from the south entrance on Dar Road. The trail wends its way through dense forest, over bridges and marshes and culminates at an 18-foot Indian mound. A nest sits high atop the mound, giving it an ominous appearance. The Ais Indians are said to have lived in this area some 2,000 years ago. The entire journey through Spruce Bluff takes about two hours. Starting on Dar Road, one could go north along an abandoned paved road to the trails leading to the settlers’ gravesite, and then across the street to a small beach overlooking the St. Lucie River. Then, follow Lookout Boulevard back to the entrance and take the trail, heading south, to the Indian mound. Beware of the wildlife. It is not uncommon to encounter snakes, raccoons, squirrels, alligators, and even the odd panther. Of course, mosquitoes inhabit this area as well. Spruce Bluff is a rare find that will intrigue history and nature buffs alike. On one side was the pioneer settlement of the 1890s and on the other, the ancient history of the Ais Indians. Great for hiking, biking, and enjoying history. I hike this area a lot and decided to take some photos with my Samsung Galaxy S3. I put the photos together into a collection, did some research on the Preserve and tied it all together in this design project I did just for fun using Adobe InDesign CC and Adobe Photoshop CC.

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    Port St. Lucie isn’t exactly known as a center of history. But, there is one area that is rich in ancient Indian history and that of 19th century pioneers. Spruce Bluff Preserve is located in southern Port St. Lucie, in the Southbend Lakes area. There are two paths that loop together onto Lookout Boulevard. To the north is part of the pioneer settlement. The settlers set up a sawmill nearby and farmed citrus in the 1890s until a hard freeze in 1895 put their hopes on ice and sent them packing. The Ais Indian side is accessible from the south entrance on Dar Road. The trail wends its way through dense forest, over bridges and marshes and culminates at an 18-foot Indian mound. A nest sits high atop the mound, giving it an ominous appearance. The Ais Indians are said to have lived in this area some 2,000 years ago. The entire journey through Spruce Bluff takes about two hours. Starting on Dar Road, one could go north along an abandoned paved road to the trails leading to the settlers’ gravesite, and then across the street to a small beach overlooking the St. Lucie River. Then, follow Lookout Boulevard back to the entrance and take the trail, heading south, to the Indian mound. Beware of the wildlife. It is not uncommon to encounter snakes, raccoons, squirrels, alligators, and even the odd panther. Of course, mosquitoes inhabit this area as well. Spruce Bluff is a rare find that will intrigue history and nature buffs alike. On one side was the pioneer settlement of the 1890s and on the other, the ancient history of the Ais Indians. Great for hiking, biking, and enjoying history. I hike this area a lot and decided to take some photos with my Samsung Galaxy S3. I put the photos together into a collection, did some research on the Preserve and tied it all together in this design project I did just for fun using Adobe InDesign CC and Adobe Photoshop CC.

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    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    458 views16 pages

    Port Saint Lucie, Florida: History & Nature Working Together

    Uploaded by

    Jeff Macharyas
    Port St. Lucie isn’t exactly known as a center of history. But, there is one area that is rich in ancient Indian history and that of 19th century pioneers. Spruce Bluff Preserve is located in southern Port St. Lucie, in the Southbend Lakes area. There are two paths that loop together onto Lookout Boulevard. To the north is part of the pioneer settlement. The settlers set up a sawmill nearby and farmed citrus in the 1890s until a hard freeze in 1895 put their hopes on ice and sent them packing. The Ais Indian side is accessible from the south entrance on Dar Road. The trail wends its way through dense forest, over bridges and marshes and culminates at an 18-foot Indian mound. A nest sits high atop the mound, giving it an ominous appearance. The Ais Indians are said to have lived in this area some 2,000 years ago. The entire journey through Spruce Bluff takes about two hours. Starting on Dar Road, one could go north along an abandoned paved road to the trails leading to the settlers’ gravesite, and then across the street to a small beach overlooking the St. Lucie River. Then, follow Lookout Boulevard back to the entrance and take the trail, heading south, to the Indian mound. Beware of the wildlife. It is not uncommon to encounter snakes, raccoons, squirrels, alligators, and even the odd panther. Of course, mosquitoes inhabit this area as well. Spruce Bluff is a rare find that will intrigue history and nature buffs alike. On one side was the pioneer settlement of the 1890s and on the other, the ancient history of the Ais Indians. Great for hiking, biking, and enjoying history. I hike this area a lot and decided to take some photos with my Samsung Galaxy S3. I put the photos together into a collection, did some research on the Preserve and tied it all together in this design project I did just for fun using Adobe InDesign CC and Adobe Photoshop CC.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    B e c l u u r f f p S

    A journey through time. In a most unlikely place. Spruce Bluff Preserve Southbend Lakes, Port St. Lucie, Florida

    Spruce Bluff
    ort st. lucie isnt exactly known as a center of history. But, there is one area that is rich in ancient Indian history and of 19th century pioneers. Spruce Bluff Preserve is located in southern Port St. Lucie, in the Southbend Lakes area. There are two paths that loop together onto Lookout Boulevard. To the north is part of the pioneer settlement.

    The settlers set up a sawmill nearby and farmed citrus fruit in the 1890s until a hard freeze in 1895 dashed their hopes and sent them packing.

    The Ais Indian side is accessible from the south entrance on Dar Road. The trail wends its way through dense forest, over bridges and marshes and culminates at an 18-foot Indian mound. A nest sits high atop the mound, giving it an ominous appearance. The Ais Indians are said to have lived in this area some 2,000 years ago.

    The entire journey through Spruce Bluff takes about two hours. Starting on Dar Road, one could go north along an abandoned paved road to the trails leading to the settlers gravesite, and then across the street to a small beach overlooking the St. Lucie River. Then, follow Lookout Boulevard back to the entrance and take the trail, heading south, to the Indian mound. Beware of the wildlife. It is not uncommon to encounter snakes, raccoons, squirrels, alligators, and even the odd panther. Of course, mosquitoes inhabit this area as well.

    Trail entrance, heading south, toward the Ais Indian side of the preserve.

    Lookout Blvd. has a few hills, which are very unusual for this area.

    The old road, heading north. The road ends at a gate to Lookout Blvd., but there are numbered trails leading to the settlers gravesite.

    Atop the 18-foot Ais Indian mound. Walking on the mound is illegal.

    One of two bridges that go over the marshes.

    The trail has many roots, which makes biking very difficult.

    During the drought of 2011, it was possible to walk all the way out. Now, the area is covered with about two feet of water.

    A nice place to rest during the hike. Wildlife abounds.

    The trail has many wonders: Spanish moss, butterflies, flowers, oh my!

    Just to the east of the gravesite is a trail that leads to a beach overlooking the confluence of the C-24 Canal and the St. Lucie River. What a view!

    Gravesite at the pioneer settlement of Spruce Bluff. 1892.

    Spruce Bluff pioneers C.E. Schroeder, Harry E. Hill, Frank Waner, Jim Nailor, Jake Padget, Ed L. Winter and Charles B. Blakeslee as seen in this 1894 photograph

    The settlers, circa 1894. The hard freeze of 1895 ended further development.

    Text and photos by Jeff Macharyas www.macharyas.com

    B e c l u u r ff p S

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