84th Annual Meeting of the Society for Military History

Global War: Historical Perspectives

Tours

Fernandina Beach Tour
Kingsley Plantation, Karibo Café Restaurant, and Fort Clinch

Thursday, March 30, 2017
 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Transportation to be provided 
Cost: $90 per person
Minimum: 24 People 
Subject to cancellation if minimum is not met
 
Kingsley Plantation   Ft. Clinch

A guided tour of Kingsley Plantation at the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve in Jacksonville will kick off the exploration. Built by influential Second-Spanish Period merchant and planter Zephaniah Kingsley and his Senegalese wife Anna Madigine Jai, Kingsley Plantation offers a fascinating glimpse into Florida's colonial past as well as the African American history of the Southeast. 

Amelia Island, an iconic sea island located less than an hour north of downtown Jacksonville, offers a whole new world of discovery. Karibo Café, located in downtown Fernandina Beach, a Coastal Living "dream town” in the heart of Amelia Island, offers a menu comprised of “eclectic cuisine and affordable gourmet” dishes ranging from sandwiches to soups and salads. A limited menu will be offered on this visit to the group. After lunch the group will tour Fort Clinch, a masonry costal fortification first constructed in the decade after the Second Seminole War. Fort Clinch served as a base of operations for Union forces in the area after it was seized in 1862, and housed troops during the Spanish-American War a generation later. As the centerpiece of Fort Clinch State Park today, the fort straddles nature and history. Impressive views of Cumberland Sound, expansive maritime hammocks, and pristine coastal wetlands offer an unmatched perspective on the coastal ecology of North Florida on the outside, while period structures and interpretation transport visitors to the 1860s within.
 
Walking Tour – Top to Bottom
Friday, March 31, 2017   
9:45  - 12:00 pm
Cost $25.00 per person
 
 
Secret Bank Vault

The 10-block walk, lasting an hour and 50 minutes, the “Top to Bottom” tour explores 7 buildings in downtown Jacksonville. While gazing on a rooftop and exploring the secret underground tunnels beneath downtown, hear the stories of the River City from the Great Fire to the First Hollywood. Experience the behind the scenes stops exclusive to Jacksonville.

 
Museum of Contemporary Art
Friday, March 31, 2017     
 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Cost $20.00 per person (Guided Tour)
Minimum: 10 People
Subject to cancellation if minimum is not met

 

A 16-minute walk from the Hyatt Regency, the Museum of Contemporary Art is keen on promoting discovery and the advancement of artists and their work portraying modern society. A private, nonprofit visual arts educational institution of the University of North Florida, MOCA Jacksonville works to serve the community and emphasize modern and contemporary art from 1960-present. MOCA Jacksonville creates more than 95% of its exhibition along with catalogs and scholarly commentary. 

Cummer Museum and Lunch
Saturday, April 1, 2017   
10:00 am - 1:30 pm
Cost $50.00 per person 
Minimum: 24 People
Subject to cancellation if minimum is not met


The Cummer Museum houses nearly 5,000 objects in its permanent collection of world-class pieces from 2100 B.C to the 21st century. The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, located on the banks of the St. Johns River, has a century-old history bearing the design of the first names in landscape design and horticulture. The designer of the Cummer Museum’s Olmsted Garden, Frederick Law Olmsted, was among the first to regard landscape architecture as a profession and a fine art, virtually creating the profession. The 2.5 acres of historic gardens exemplify the 20th century garden design comprised of fountains, reflecting pools, and sculptures throughout the grounds. Also located on the grounds is one of Jacksonville’s oldest trees, the Majestic Cummer Oak, with a canopy of more than 150 feet. 
 
St. Augustine Tour
Ft. Castillo De San Marcos, Conch House Restaurant, and Flagler College

Sunday, April 2, 2017          
10:30 am - 5:30 pm
Transportation to be provided
Cost: $90.00  per person           
Minimum: 24 People 
Subject to cancellation if minimum is not met
 
Interior of Ft. Castillo De San Marcos   Flagler College

Unique to North American architecture, the Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fortress in the United States. With the “bastion system” of fortification, the fort displays the culmination of hundreds of years of military defense and engineering. It is one of only two fortifications worldwide built from of a semi-rare limestone called coquina. 

Lunch at the Conch House Restaurant will feel like a trip to the Caribbean with the chance to dine under a palm tree outside or even in one of the unique grass huts out over the water. Specializing in seafood, chicken, steaks, and delightful salads, the Conch House offers an authentic Caribbean-style dining experience. Though a limited menu will be given for our group, the Conch House will not disappoint. 

Named 2nd in the U.S News & World Report’s Best College guide for Best Regional College in the South, Flagler’s costal campus is rich with history and distinguished faculty members. Located in the nation’s oldest city, Flagler College is a small, private residential university displaying stunning Spanish architecture. Tours offered spotlight the architectural heritage of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, built by Henry M. Flagler. The world’s largest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany stained-glass windows can be found in Flagler’s dinning hall. These 79 windows are surrounded by hand painted murals on both the walls and the ceiling.