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Every 4th Grader Knows Why

Witness Tree at Timucuan

(Photos by Mark) Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, in the NE outskirts of Jacksonville, FL is a sizable place – 46,000 acres conserving natural and cultural facets of Old Florida. Six-hundred of those acres are the Kingsley Plantation with its darker - and hopeful - sides of American history.

The Plantation was isolated and reachable only by boat when Zephaniah and Anna Kingsley settled here in 1813. Zephaniah was a white European merchant trading and selling cargo from cotton to human beings. Anna, his wife, was an African woman from what is now Senegal. He purchased her at a slave auction in Cuba when she was very young and married her.

Anna would go on to run Kingsley Plantation by herself in his absence; something that was unheard of for a Black woman at that time. A remarkable act of survival where, through much of her own sheer force of will, Anna established a life that was something an enslaved person, especially an enslaved woman, wouldn't have been able to accomplish. 

As told through the words of National Park Ranger Josh Salestrom: “So very much of what we do here is to better understand the various complicated relationships … A painful, difficult past wrapped in nature's beauty, Kingsley Plantation serves as more than just a history lesson. What you have here is a place that represents hope; it also represents the lack of hope. It represents futility, but it also represents ingenuity and adaptability … it's a story of human bondage … but there are instances of hope, ingenuity, and adaptation."

Walking through Kingsley Plantation is like taking a journey back in time. Here are witness trees that tell a story from the past without ever using words: important because here, enslaved buried their dead oriented around selected trees. It is a powerful symbol that these trees remain. Important still today where visitors can come and see this living link. These oak trees, NPS interpretive rangers, and chronicles from the Preserve’s bookstore give voice to the people that were traditionally voiceless.

On my visit¸ I just so happened to be joined by a 4th grade school group. You see, for as long as those 4th graders have been around, the National Park Service (NPS) has been offering every 4th grader (and their families) free admission to national park areas via the “Every Kid Outdoors Program.” 

The connection here is that most school districts teach American History in 4th grade; and what better places to conduct field trips than to the places where history comes alive in the field and in the bookstore, professional interpretive rangers are ready to serve, and the instructional curriculum is in place. 

Today, visitors - including 4th grade American History students - can learn of plantation experiences; but the future of history-tellers and history-telling about Timucuan, Kingsley Plantation and the humans who made that history, is uncertain. Now that the Big Beautiful Budget Bill has passed, the Administration calls for a $900 million cut to NPS Operations - that’s 1/3 of the current budget. Details on how that descends down into each of the 433 national park areas like Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve are unavailable from the Administration. 

The National Parks Conservation Association has calculated that could result in more than a 75% reduction to the National Park System - essentially wiping out budgets and staffing for at least 350 of the 433 national park areas. How does Timucuan survive that kind of a cut? 

By July 3 of this year, the NPS has lost 24% of its permanent staff - nearly a quarter of the workforce gone including archeologists, skilled historic preservation craft workers, and interpretive rangers. More reductions may occur this month when the Administration’s 2026 Budget is voted upon. How does Timucuan survive those cutbacks in staff?

The Ecological & Historic Preserve has amazing historic structures. The Plantation House, slave quarters, and other outbuildings make the site the oldest standing plantation in Florida. Cyclic maintenance, inspection, and hands-on preservation maintain their historic character and integrity. The Administration plans on cutting NPS Historic Preservation by $158 million. How will Timucuan’s cultural structures survive?

In March the Administration directed new signs to be posted in national park areas encouraging people to report rangers and displays that discuss negative information about America. 

The “snitch signs” (as Forbes calls them) are asking people to contradict crucial scientific and historical facts that have been vetted for accuracy by experts. Do 4th graders rat on Timucuan? 

The Administration also directed staff at park areas to review all gift shop/bookstore items for anti-American content, according to an internal directive reviewed by The Washington Post. The move is part of the administration’s wider campaign to scrub federal institutions of “corrosive ideology” recognizing historic racism. Do rangers at Timucuan begin to ban books?

And what will become of programs like Every Kid Outdoors. Why eliminate the park educators and outdoor classroom at Timucuan? Hum …?

Kingsley Plantation 
Slave Headquarters on the Kingsley Plantation 
(NPS File Photo) Historic Interpretation for 4th Graders at Timucaan 

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