The History of Dog Island

8,000 Years of Maritime Cultures

There has been a human presence on Dog Island for thousands of years. There is some evidence of human occupation on the island as early as 8,000 years ago (at that time the island would have been part of the mainland) and other archaeological evidence suggests habitation intensified over the millennia, through the time of European contact in the 16th century AD. Many prehistoric archaeological sites have been documented on the island (White et al 1995) and it is likely, due to the ever-changing geomorphology of the island over time, that other such sites are now inundated in the waters surrounding the island.

Dog Island has a rich maritime history. The presence of indigenous peoples on the island, and the discovery of a 1,200 year old dugout canoe, attest to the forgotten traditions of prehistoric mariners. It is not known exactly when European seafarers first visited the island, though it is believed that the Spanish conquistador Narváez and his men encountered the island in 1528 while attempting to escape Florida in makeshift watercraft (the second recorded instance of European-style boat building in America) (Weddle 1985: 192). During the 17th century, the Spanish established a mission system in the region of Apalachee (centered around present-day Tallahassee) and a port was established at nearby San Marcos de Apalache (the modern town of St. Marks). A lucrative trade route was established between San Marcos, Havana, and St. Augustine. It is certain that local Spanish mariners were aware of Dog Island, though it is scarcely mentioned in the historical documentation of the time.

It is probable that Dog Island was used throughout the 17th and 18th centuries for the illicit maritime traffic of smugglers and pirates. The 17th century Spanish authorities in Apalachee were constantly anxious about the vulnerability of their ships and settlements to English and French buccaneers (Hann 1988: 198-199). Pirates successfully raided San Marcos in 1677 and 1682, taking ships, ransoming prisoners, and burning the fort. In addition, it was suspected that local colonists would illegally trade with these foreigners (McCarthy 1994: 27-29). It is likely that pirates such as these would have used the nearby barrier islands, with their desolate, sheltered coves, as hideouts and staging points for raids or trading ventures.

By the 18th century, Spain's French rivals had established the thriving colony of Louisiana (with major settlements at New Orleans and Mobile), and so the waters around Dog Island saw both French and Spanish exploratory and mercantile traffic. In the first half of the 18th century, the French senior hydrographic engineer Jacques-Nicolas Bellin was charged with improving the known maps of the Gulf coast. He included in his new map Dog Island, "of which no mention is made on any chart, although it is nine or ten leagues long and has, between it and the mainland, a considerable channel where ships can navigate" (Weddle 1991: 340).

The first of two historically significant 18th century shipwrecks at Dog Island took place in 1766. Le Tigre, a brigantine loaded with merchandise "certain to sell," was on route from St. Domingue (present day Haiti) to New Orleans when she was caught by a vicious storm in the Gulf of Mexico. In danger of sinking, her crew attempted to make it to Mobile and then Pensacola, but the ship ran aground instead 300 yards east of Dog Island, early in the morning on February 16th, 1766. A best-selling narrative by survivor Pierre Viaud-Naufrage et Aventures de M. Pierre Viaud-shocked European audiences with its lurid tale of disaster at sea, betrayal, death, murder, native savages, wild animals, cannibalism, and, eventually, a happy ending (Fabel 1990). After these (probably much-exaggerated) tribulations, Viaud was rescued by soldiers from the garrison at St. Marks, which was by that time in British hands.

The second significant shipwreck event was the loss of the English war schooner Fox, which occurred after the Spanish had re-gained control of Florida at the end of the century. HMS Fox set sail from Nassau to the Apalachee region of Florida on September 4th, 1799. On board was the infamous William Augustus Bowles, the self-proclaimed Director-General of the "independent and sovereign" Creek Indian Nation of Muskogee. Bowles, supported by the British government, used native warriors to conduct land and naval attacks on Spanish Florida (Wright 1967; McCarthy 1994: 59-61). Caught in a storm very near its destination, the Fox ran aground in between St. George and Dog Islands, losing most of its cargo of supplies and munitions for Bowles' native supporters. Previous efforts by FSU student archaeologists have been made to locate the Fox, though to date none have been successful (Brewer 1980; Palmer 1997).

Sometime between the latter half of the 18th century and the mid-19th century, it is likely that another vessel was lost somewhere in East Pass between Dog Island and St. George Island. The remains of this vessel were accidentally discovered by the local proprietors of Miller Seafoods while shrimping. Two ceramic tiles, believed to be late 18th century French in origin, were recovered, but this site has not been re-located and remains unknown to archaeologists (James Dunbar, personal communication, 1999). It is likely that for every one of the recorded ship losses in the vicinity of Dog Island, there are many others that occurred and, like the East Pass Wreck (8FR799), have become lost to history.

During the nineteenth century, Euro-Americans periodically visited the island to gather such resources as lumber and pine pitch for ship building. When the Americans gained control of Florida in 1821, port cities such as Apalachicola, St. Joseph, Magnolia, St. Marks, Port Leon, and Newport developed along the coastal region, and merchant shipping by steam and sail increased throughout the Gulf. Lumber and naval stores, along with cotton, grew in importance as trade goods. In 1839 a lighthouse was established on Dog Island, which marked the first known permanent human habitation on the island. Florida's entrance into statehood in 1845 bolstered economic growth, and railroad and steamer transportation, along with shipping exports to Atlantic, European, and Caribbean markets, expanded rapidly (Smith et al 1997: 10-13).

Dog Island was of strategic importance to the Union Navy during the Civil War, and it was used as a staging point for the blockade of the port of Apalachicola. Union forces maintained two steam-propelled vessels and many small boats throughout the war. The lighthouse was used as a lookout tower by Union soldiers, and in continued in federal service after the war's end until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1872. The remains of the lighthouse should lie about 100 meters off the Cannonball Acres area (Huntsman 1991).

Another significant wrecking event occurred on 26 February 1899. At that time, there were thirteen large merchant ships on the island, taking on cargoes of "Florida pine, sawn timber, and planks." The wooden-hulled ships were all between 400 and 500 tons, and included six American 3-masted coastal schooners, five Norwegian 3-masted barks, one Finnish schooner, and one Spanish bark. A hurricane or severe squall inundated most of the island, and two ships were wrecked on the neighboring St. George Island. Nine of the remaining vessels were wrecked on Dog Island. One of the surviving Norwegian sailors acquired photographs, copies of which are on file at the Bureau of Archaeological Research. Of the nine vessels lost on Dog Island, four were not re-floated and their remains should still lie in Shipping Cove: the Jafnhar, Vale, Latava, and Cortesia (White et al 1995: 29). Dog Island Wreck # 2 (8FR814), investigated briefly by FSU students in 1990, was interpreted to be one of these 1899 wrecks (Wright 1990).

Another shipwreck lies in the surf zone directly opposite Shipping Cove on the Gulf side of the island. Known as Dog Island Wreck # 1 (8FR813), it was initially investigated in 1987, and is believed to be a late 19th century/early 20th century fishing smack, the Priscilla. Built in Maine and owned by a Pensacola seafood company, the Priscilla has very similar dimensions to those of Dog Island Wreck # 1, and records suggest she was wrecked sometime before 1917 (White et al 1995: 27). The Priscilla's remains are a testament to the fishing industry that thrived in the area at the turn of the century (as it does to this day).

After the turn of the century, population on Dog Island slowly increased. In addition to logging exploitation, a growing industry at this time was the collection of oleoresin, used in the production of turpentine (Huntsman 1995). It is known that turpentine leases were in effect during 1938 to 1945 and 1945 to 1947. One of these early- to mid-twentieth century turpentine camps (8FR843) was investigated by archaeologist Nancy White (1995: 32-35). A related maritime site is the remains of a dock used by the turpentine workers which is located on the northwest shore of Tyson Harbor (White et al 1995: 33).

Concentrated military activities took place on the island for the second time during World War II. The U.S. Army Camp Gordon Johnston was established across Franklin County, encompassing all of the barrier islands, in 1942. The island was used for target practice as well as training for amphibious assaults. Additionally, a training camp was located adjacent to the contemporary turpentine camp. After World War II, portions of the island were bought and sold by private individuals. Homes were subsequently built on many of the individual lots. In 1980, the Nature Conservancy bought most of the island for preservation purposes.

References

Brewer, David and Henry L. Paul
1980 An Archaeological Survey in Search of HMS Fox. Report prepared by the Academic Diving Program, Florida State University for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, Tallahassee.

Fabel, Robin F. A. (trans. and ed.)
1990 Shipwreck and Adventures of Monsieur Pierre Viaud. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

Hann, John H.
1988 Apalachee: The Land between the Rivers. Ripley P. Bullen Monographs in Anthropology and History, No. 7. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

Huntsman, Larry
1991 Did You Know . . . ? The Barrier Island Trust Newsletter 2: 4. (May)
1995 Did You Know . . . ? The Barrier Island Trust Newsletter 4: 3,6. (Spring)

McCarthy, Kevin M.
1994 Twenty Florida Pirates. Pineapple Press, Inc., Sarasota, Florida.

Palmer, Thadra
1997 A Synthesis of Work Conducted on Middle Pass Between Dog Island and St. George Island. Report prepared by the Academic Diving Program, Florida State University for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, Tallahassee.

Smith, Roger C., James J. Miller, Sean M. Kelley, and Linda G. Harbin
1997 An Atlas of Maritime Florida. Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, and University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

Weddle, Robert S.
1985 Spanish Sea: The Gulf of Mexico in North American Discovery 1500-1685. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.
1991 The French Thorn: Rival Explorers in the Spanish Sea, 1682-1762. Texas A&M University Press, College Station.

White, Nancy Marie, Keith D. Ryder, Scott M. Grammar, and Karen L. Mayo
1995 Archaeological Survey of Dog Island. Report prepared by the Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida for the Barrier Island Trust, Tallahassee, Florida.

Wright, Chip
1990 Dog Island Wreck # 2 (8FR814). Report prepared by the Academic Diving Program, Florida State University, for the Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research, Tallahassee.

Wright, James Leitch Jr.
1967 William Augustus Bowles: Director General of the Creek Nation. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

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