Nassau Chapter of the Sierra Club and Yulee Historic Council commemorate John Muir

Submitted by Jeff Peterson

On Saturday, 16 November, a group of walkers from the Northeast Florida
Sierra Club, the Nassau Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Yulee Historic
Council gathered at the John Muir Memorial Park in Yulee for their tenth
annual commemoration of John Muir’s presence in Florida.  John Muir (a
well-known American naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club and the
National Park Service) walked Yulee’s railroad track in 1867 to study and document plants.  As noted in Muir’s book, “A Thousand-mile walk to the Gulf,” the wilderness of Florida was quite untamed and unforgiving at times.

Prior to the walk, the Yulee Historical Society held its annual meeting.
The Yulee Historic Council was founded by Mary Lou Tucker and works to
preserve the history of the Yulee area.

Todd Sack from the NE FL Sierra Club read a passage from John Muir’s book
written on his arrival in Fernandina. The group then re-assembled at the
Egans Creek Greenway for a guided walk with local naturalist John Carr.

This group looks forward to continuing its tradition of celebrating Muir’s
walk annually and, looking ahead, to commemorating the 150th anniversary of
the event in 2017.

We hope others will join us and in the meantime walk the “John Muir
Boardwalk” at the Park on U. S. 17 (just past the Yulee Post Office).  Part
of the boardwalk is located on the Florida Railroad bed.  The facility is
handicapped-accessible and is a good spot for family outings.

There is a historical marker for David Yulee at the location.

November 24, 2013 4:50 p.m.