In August of 2008, there was much publicity and a City of Palm Coast tour of the “early 1800 plantation period wharf” at the City’s Long Landing setting which had been determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A raised bulkhead was identified as the historic Hernandez site where boats once transported goods to Matanzas Bay. Big Mulberry Branch Creek located just west of Long Creek has been also identified as one of the earliest known sites in the County as containing sites of early pre-historic Indians. Both sites were purchased by the City of Palm Coast using inter-local City/County funds for Environmentally Sensitive Lands.
Historian and researcher Dana St. Claire said the original Spanish land grant map fell almost exactly on the modern map of the area. Illustrated in the early 1800’s map is an “embarcadero” or landing for boats. There is a “Camino Carratera” or cart road that dead-ends into Long Creek. Long Creek was probably named for Mr. George Long who lived there prior to the Second Seminole War. His son, Joseph Long was killed by Indians trying to warn Mr. Dupont of an Indian attack. The Long family is buried in the “Eatman Cemetery” located in Hammock Dunes. The Long Creek site is recorded on the Florida Master Site file as 8FL307.
Spanish Land Grant Map of Area
This is one of Joseph Hernandez’s grants, an 800-acre parcel authorized in 1816, and presently show as “irregular Section 40 on the U.S. G.S. topographic map. Hernandez Landing was probably used to load goods such as rice, indigo, cotton, wood products into boats for transport to larger ships anchored near Matanzas. It probably was once an important commercial site. At the most northern point of the peninsula, archaeologists found a raised earthen bulkhead of historically excavated fill that forms a steep bank over Long Creek. Nearby are piles of cut coquina stone and other early structural materials. The earthen bulkhead may have supported a wooden wharf. The City of Palm Coast had written this area may someday be called “Long Creek Landing Park’ with appropriate research into what all believe as many existing historical artifacts.
