Location, Location, Location: Amelia Island, Florida
September 1, 2003
The southernmost of the barrier islands that stretch from North Carolina to Florida, Amelia Island is a short hop across Cumberland Sound, Ga., and 32 miles north of Jacksonville, Fla.—but it is a world removed. Wind-sculpted live oaks drip with wisteria and Spanish moss, 40-foot-high sand dunes protect shell-strewn beaches, and blue herons wade through marshes and ponds.
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Named for the daughter of King George II, Amelia Island (just 15 miles long and 2 miles wide) served under eight different sovereigns. “The French visited, the Spanish developed, the English named and the Americans tamed” is the island’s unofficial slogan. During the 1800s, its main town, Fernandina Beach, was known as the “Spanish Hussy” because five blocks housed 50 bordellos. Now the town’s 50-block historic district is on the National Register of Historic Places. Henry Flagler’s railroad and the resultant mass modernization bypassed the island, which means that most of its Victorian architecture remains intact. (Click image to enlarge)
Recognized by Golf Magazine as a “silver medal” golf resort, the Plantation’s three courses border ocean, marshes and woods. The 18-hole, members-only Long Point course, designed by Tom Fazio, was named by Golfweek magazine as one of “America’s 75 Best Resort Courses.” So far, 750 homes and 1,000 condos have been built to house approximately 1,800 residents. Two-thirds of the homes and one-third of the condos are owner-occupied. The project is currently in its final development phase, and once it is complete, 2,200 units—1.6 per acre—will dot the landscape.
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