Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Infobox_protected_area | name = Jonathan Dickinson State Park
iucn_category = V

---

caption =
locator_x = 238
locator_y = 159
location = Martin County, Florida, USA
nearest_city = Hobe Sound / Tequesta, Florida
lat_degrees = 27
lat_minutes = 00
lat_seconds = 22
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 80
long_minutes = 07
long_seconds = 44
long_direction = W
area = 11,500 acres
established = 1950
visitation_num = 172,000
visitation_year = 2004
governing_body = Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site located in Martin County, Florida, between Hobe Sound and Tequesta. The park includes a variety of natural communities, such as sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, mangroves, and river swamps. The Loxahatchee River, which was named a National Wild and Scenic River in 1985 (the first in Florida), runs through the park. The address is 16450 S.E. Federal Highway, Hobe Sound.

History

The park is named after Jonathan Dickinson, a Quaker merchant who was shipwrecked in 1696, with his family and others, on the Florida coast near the present-day park. He wrote a journal describing their encounters with local tribes, and their journey up the coast to St. Augustine.

A man known as Trapper Nelson homesteaded on the banks of the Loxahatchee River in the 1930s, living off the land trapping and selling furs. He soon became known as the "Wildman of the Loxahatchee". After he died in 1968 the state acquired his land, and deeded it to the park. The site can only be reached by boat.

The United States Army established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school, in the area that is now the park, in 1942. The camp included over 1,000 buildings, and housed more than 6,000 officers and soldiers. The camp was deactivated in 1944, after only two years of operation. Most of the camp buildings were torn down, but some of the building foundations remain. The property was transferred to the State of Florida in 1947, and opened as a state park in 1950.

Recreational Activities

The park has such amenities as bicycling, boat tours, boating, cabins, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horse trails, kayaking, picnicking areas, swimming, wildlife viewing and full camping facilities. It also has a visitor center, a museum with interpretive exhibits and concessions. The park operates a 44-passenger boat for tours of Trapper Nelson's homestead.

Gallery

References and external links

* [http://www.floridastateparks.org/jonathandickinson/default.cfm Jonathan Dickinson State Park] at [http://www.floridastateparks.org Florida State Parks]
* [http://www.stateparks.com/jonathan_dickinson.html Jonathan Dickinson State Park] at [http://www.stateparks.com/usa.html State Parks of the United States]
* [http://www.abfla.com/parks/JonathanDickinson/jonathandickinson.html Jonathan Dickinson State Park] at [http://www.abfla.com Absolutely Florida]