KINGSLEY PLANTATION

By  Mike Miller July 15, 2025

Kingsley Plantation, located on Fort George Island in Jacksonville, Florida, is a historic site managed by the National Park Service.

It offers a glimpse into Florida’s plantation era and the lives of enslaved people.

The site includes the oldest standing plantation house in Florida, slave cabins, a barn, and a kitchen house.

Visitors can explore the grounds and learn about the complex history of slavery in the region.  

Kingsley Plantation

Built in 1798, Kingsley Plantation was home to Zephaniah Kingsley, a slave trader and planter, and his wife, Anna Madgigine Jai, a former slave from Senegal.

Kingsley freed Anna in 1811, and she later managed the plantation and owned land and slaves.

The plantation grew Sea Island cotton, sugarcane, and other crops using the labor of about 60 enslaved people.

When Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, restrictive racial laws threatened the Kingsley family’s status. They moved to Haiti in the 1830s to escape these laws.

The plantation reflects the harsh realities of slavery and the unique story of the Kingsley family. 

Kingsley Plantation is at 11676 Palmetto Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32226, within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

It’s open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

The plantation is about 25 miles northeast of downtown Jacksonville. Visitors drive a 1.5-mile unpaved road to reach the site.

A free self-guided audio tour, “The Lion’s Story Teller,” covers 17 stops and takes about an hour.

Check their website calendar to see when the planter’s house is open for tours or when rangers are offering programs. The visitor center offers maps and souvenirs.  

• The slave cabins, made of tabby (oyster shells, lime, sand, and water), form a semicircle, resembling African village layouts.  

• Anna Kingsley owned property and slaves, a rare achievement for a former slave in the antebellum South.  
  
  
• The plantation house, built in 1798, is the oldest surviving plantation house in Florida.  

• Kingsley Plantation is part of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, preserving African American history along the Southeast coast.  

• Zephaniah Kingsley advocated for rights for free Black people, despite owning slaves. 

KINGSLEY PLANTATION WEBSITE