Apalachicola River, Part Eight

Continuing our look at Civil War sites along Florida's Apalachicola River, this is Aspalaga Bluff in western Gadsden County.

Recently added to Torreya State Park and now preserved, the bluff is one of the most important historic sites along the river. During prehistoric times a complex of Native American mounds stood here. When white settlers made their way into the Apalachicola Valley, they picked Aspalaga as a site for an important river landing and settlement.

The landing stood at the foot of the bluff (at about the point where the river makes its bend to the right), while the settlement itself was on top of the steep bluff. By the time of the Civil War, this was an important ferry crossing and steamboat landing. Confederate troops camped here from time to time and steamboats stopped here to take on wood or drop off supplies. Although a small log fort had stood here during the Second Seminole War, there is no indication that the Confederates ever fortified the bluff during the Civil War. Most of their efforts were focused at several locations downstream.

Aspalaga Landing is now open to the public, but access to the bluff itself is restricted without prior permission from the park rangers at Torreya State Park.

Our series will continue.