Monday, September 28, 2009

Fort King Festival

Photos 1 & 2 - Replica of Fort King constructed at Silver Springs Park




Photos 3 & 4 - A Bunny Weaver at the Fort King Festival. She is weaving material made from the hair of the bunny on her lap.




Photo 5 - A Seminole using a seashell as a horn


In 1827, Fort King, a U.S. Army installation named for Col. William King, was built in what is now east Ocala to try to maintain a measure of peace between white settlers moving into the area and the Seminole Indians who lived slightly to the south. After about two years, however, the fort was essentially abandoned

In 1832, the Fort revived and became involved in the relocation of Seminoles to the west, and later served as a strategic site during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). It was burned by the Seminoles in 1836 but not decimated and remained in use until the end of the war. In 1844, Fort King became the newly-formed Marion County's first courthouse.

In the end, the fort was abandoned, torn down and it's wood used for other construction projects in the area.

The site of the original fort is about a mile from our home. It is empty land with nothing to designate it's importance other than a couple of markers.

A replica of the fort has been built at Silver Springs and can be seen on one of the boat rides.


Ocala and Marion County conduct a Fort King festival annually about two miles from the site of the fort. It is a celebration of the area's historical heritage and involves various vendors, craftsmen, soldiers, Indians, conquistadores, music and food, among other things.

33 comments:

Tash said...

I like all the textures of plants and water and wood in the 1st 2, and the super portraits!
J. with all this photography, do you have time to sleep? :)

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Some really beautiful and lovely shots !! The lady making the Cotton is having a fantastic machinery...Great..Also Jacob I would like to pass you the Unseen Rajasthan Award which is for showing us the things which are lesser known.Great..Unseen Rajasthan

Unseen Rajasthan said...

Just Go to my Blog and collect the Award placed on the Right Hand side bar.Unseen Rajasthan

Lee Spangler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
VP said...

Beautiful set of photos, love the reconstruction of the fort and the beautiful portraits. The images of the weaver and of the Seminole are stunning.

Small City Scenes said...

We sure do love a festival. I guess I find it strange that we will celebrate a fort that is no longer around and wasn't the happiest of places when it was.

Wolynski said...

That poor bunny will be bare naked by the time she's done with her sweater.
Wonderful photos as usual - great greenery. I don't think that fort was easy to defend.

eamon@ewmphotography said...

How unfortunate that the original fort has gone. Sad that something of heritage is removed for no good reason, but great that a replica has been constructed. The conch-blower portrait is wonderful Jacob.

Pat said...

These are beautiful photos of a place I would surely visit. I especially like the lady with the rabbit...imagine she's twirling its hair as she knits...

brattcat said...

Not only all the photography, Tash, but all the thoughtful (and witty) comments left on so many other sites. I don't know how you find time to attend events like this but I'm sure glad you do, Jacob. Great shots.

Kcalpesh said...

I'm still to see the original fort king but I like the replica will try to search about the original too! The material made out of bunny hair looks extremely soft! The details and expressions captured in the last shot are amazing!

- Pixellicious Photos

Lois said...

I would love to watch that Bunny Weaver for awhile!

jusdealem said...

I didn't know there was such a thing as a bunny weaver..how 'bout that. Interesting history on the place. Love the portraits, esp the shell blower. I'm trying to get better at portraits, but they aren't easy! Great job on these.

Daryl said...

Fascinating ... was the bunny alive?

Lowell said...

Thank you all! Tash & Brattcat - I'm retired, to that gives me more time than folks who are required to work every day. And every once in awhile, I sleep a little bit! :-)

Judy said...

Fantastic photo's and information. I would love to see that in person. The picture of the lady weaving the bunny hair is amazing. I would have to hang around awhile and watch that process. Good portraits are so hard to get and these are really good.

Lowell said...

@ Daryl - You betcha! Kinda sleepy, but keeping a wary eye out for too-strange people...

Memphis MOJO said...

Like the reflection in the water in the first photo, but absolutely love the one of the man blowing the seashell. Is it a conch?

Lowell said...

@ MOJO - Thanks! And yes, 'tis a conch.

Lowell said...

@ Small Scenes - Hi Mary Beth. I think it's more of a celebration of the area's history than the fort...it's just that Fort King makes for a nice focal point...

Cezar and Léia said...

Wonderful post dear Jacob!
Thanks for all information, this post is very special indeed!
Léia

Unknown said...

I like the Seminole portrait and the location of the Fort (1st pic).

cieldequimper said...

Wonderfully informative post and beautiful portraits. Are bunnies a local speciality?

Lowell said...

@ Ciel - Thanks. Re: the bunnies. I have no idea! I had never heard of this before, nor had I ever seen one of these (what look to be a special breed) bunnies. I was, quite frankly, amazed at the whole process. And that bunny just sat in her lap totally content.

Halcyon said...

Sounds like there were a lot of neat things at the festival! Does she pluck the hair directly from that bun bun or wait for it to fall out?

Lowell said...

@ Halcyon - From what I could see, she was plucking hairs from the bunny...

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

Outch! What would PETA think of plucking hairs from a living bunny? Sheesh! (-;
The pictures are awesome. Nice people shots.

D said...

Lovely photos and a great history. The bunny thing is a little disturbing, but he doesn't seem to mind. He was probably shedding that hair anyway!

Chattahoochee Valley Daily said...

Interesting post, Jacob. I especially like the 'bunny weaver'. Pretty cool.

EG CameraGirl said...

It's good to remember the past in this way. Adults as well as children learn from these festivals. Very nice captures!

Bergson said...

Fine Protraits

Marie said...

What a wonderful "reportage", Jacob!!!!!!!!!! I love the photos and the ambiance.

Lisa Wilson said...

What fun! Great photos.

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson