Archive for the ‘civil war’ tag
Antebellum glory at the Gamble Plantation
P
lay Scarlett among the oaks at the antebellum Gamble Plantation
Admission: Free admission to the park. $5 for tour.
Flanked by 300-year-old oaks, the grand entrance to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park along US 301 is reminiscent of a scene from “Gone With The Wind.” And like the mythical Tara, the last remaining antebellum plantation in South Florida played an important role in the last days of the War Between the States. As one of the first post-statehood settlers in southwest Florida, Major Robert Gamble established his 3,500-acre sugar plantation along the Manatee River in 1843, shipping his finished products downriver and out into the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. Built of tabby (a mix of oyster shells and lime) with walls 2 feet thick, his Greek Revival mansion was designed to trap cool air like a cave and to utilize rainwater cisterns for fresh water.
