This beautiful old oak tree at Ocheesee Landing was one of two that originally stood in front of the Gregory House.
The home overlooked the Apalachicola River at this site until it was relocated across the river to Torreya State Park during the 1930s.
The Gregory family and home were a major landmark at Ocheesee during the Civil War. Members of the family served in the Confederate army and the family often hosted Southern officers from both the Army and Navy as they moved up and down the Apalachicola River.
The war, however, resulted in disaster for the family and its vast holdings. The economic losses inflicted on the Gregory plantation by four years of war followed by the liberation of the family's enslaved laborers resulted in the collapse of the farming operation. Today the cotton fields of Jason Gregory are now planted in slash pine and not even a single building remains at the site to serve as a reminder of what once was one of the largest plantations along Florida's Apalachicola River.
The house itself, however, can be visited at Torreya State Park and is furnished with many items that once belonged to the Gregory family. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/torreyastatepark.
Our series will continue.
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