Unlike a typical development, the eclectic architectural styles and demographic diversity in Old Town reflect the area's colorful history. Current building consists of a wide variety of single family homes some in Victorian style and others in a "cracker-style" or Southern vernacular with welcoming porches and verandahs. Amenities of the area include Tiger Point Marina, Egan's Creek Marina and a public boat ramp, providing convenient access to the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Ocean. After designation to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, Old Town began attracting the interest of locals and outsiders who have created a real estate boom in the area. Still, only about 20% of the Old Town Historic District is built out at this time and the area will continue to evolve as investment is made in this distinctive neighborhood.

Historical Significance of Old Town

While it is believed that Timucuan Indians lived on the bluff that is Old Town as many as two thousand years ago, Old Town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its Spanish city grid plan which is based on the 1573 "Law of the Indies." Unlike most historic districts, Old Town does not claim numerous significant historic buildings. Instead, it is the Spanish-style plat itself which is important. Developed under the rule of King Phillip II, the "Law of the Indies" contained 148 principles governing the planning and development of Spanish towns in the Americas. The rules provided guidelines for the town's location, lot dimensions, and public space among other things and were utilized throughout the Spanish Empire in the New World. Old Town was platted formally in 1811, only a decade before Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821. Due to its late founding in the history of the Spanish presence in Florida and subsequent abandonment by U.S. settlers of the island, Old Town remains one of the last and purest examples of the "Law of the Indies" planning edict.

Bosque Bello Cemetary
Old Town was a booming center of trade between 1807 and 1818, and its strategic location between Spanish Florida and the newly formed United States made it a highly desirable and often dangerous place to be as evidenced by the 8 flags which have flown over the island mostly during this period. Between 1784 and 1821, people from Spain and other Spanish colonies, France, Scotland, Germany, people of African descent (from various places), Greece, Ireland, England and Switzerland, and citizens of the newly created United States lived and owned property in Old Town. Leon Duvignean, a French baker, had a store there. And Francisco De Salas of Torre Guemada, old Castille, Spain had an inn and restaurant near the plaza. A German doctor opened the first non-military hospital in Florida. And Anna Wiggins, a free black woman and mother of Jenny and Isabel, owned a half-lot and earned her living as a seamstress along with a number of other free black men and women whose names and property are documented fully in the East Florida Papers of the Archive of the Indies housed in Seville, Spain. The Spanish were extraordinary record keepers and one of the fascinating things about property in Old Town is that one can trace ownership back to this period.

Old Town's city plan originally featured a mixed use arrangement of commercial and residential functions quite typical in a Spanish or European town. Under the Law of the Indies, the most important civic, religious and commercial buildings were located around Plaza San Carlos, named for the fort that once stood beyond it and no longer exists. In fact, until 1926 a church and several institutional buildings were located on plaza lots following this prescription but they too have disappeared. Today, Old Town is primarily a residential neighborhood. However, the Old Town Preservation and Development Guidelines, adopted by the City of Fernandina Beach, allow appropriate light commercial development on some of the perimeter blocks of the area with the intention of encouraging a vibrant neighborhood within walking distance of the plaza, marinas and limited dining or shopping.

For more on the History of Amelia Island, go to www.islandchamber.com