Fernandina was an open port when the United States was closed to foreign commerce. It was a haven for smugglers and pirates and scoundrels and rogues, long before the paper mills and a high-tone resorts. Scot soldier of fortune Gregor MacGregor ran the place for a couple of years in the early 1800s before fleeing Spain and Georgians. His successor brigand declared the place a part of Mexico before Americans ran him off, too. Yellow fever cleared the boards until the 1850s, when Florida's first railroad transformed the town to a lumber and cotton port.
Legend persists that lost millions in pirate gold abide in the hidden sands of Nassau County.
Legend persists that a ghost walks the parapet of Fort Clinch, the mysterious bastion that guards the storied marsh. Legends persist of moonshine treasure, and of stolen love, and of the shade of a soldier of fortune . . . In Nassau County, legends persist. We've lived here 30 years. I like it because it's a small community.