About The Timucuan Trail Parks Foundation
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Our history began nearly 50 years ago, when a distinguished congressman from North Florida introduced legislation that would secure two of our national treasures: Ft. Caroline National Memorial and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve – The Honorable Charles E. Bennett (1910-2003). Congressman Bennett’s special reverence for North Florida left a treasure trove of land, written history and historic landmarks. Ft. Caroline and the Timucuan Preserve were his special gifts to not only Florida, but to our nation as well. |
Through his passion and talent for research, writing and storytelling, knowledge of our area has been enriched and preserved. He was the consummate historian, scholar and philanthropist. With each his publications, profits were given to the National Park Service or other organizations in need.
In 1999, Mayor John Delaney announced “The Preservation Project Jacksonville.” His mission was to preserve environmentally sensitive lands that would ultimately create the largest urban park system in the nation. The primary goal of this initiative was to acquire and permanently protect North Florida’s most vulnerable lands. These lands created the 'Timucuan trail' of public parks so everyone could enjoy these special places.
The City of Jacksonville partnered with agencies such as the Florida State Parks, the National Park Service, the Florida Communities Trust, St. Johns River Water Management District and Office of Greenways and Trails; environmental non-profit organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land and the North Florida Land Trust; as well as private citizens and organizations. Through these partnerships, Jacksonville’s urban park system grew from approximately 30,000 acres of parklands to more than 80,000 acres – the largest urban park system in the United States.
In 1999, the Preservation Project Jacksonville Inc. became a private 501(c)3 non-profit to assist with acquiring lands. In 2003, when Delaney left office, the non-profit changed its name to “Preservation North Florida.” Preservation North Florida continued to assist the city in acquiring $39 million in environmentally sensitive lands.
In 2010, the board revised the organization's mission, vision and goals. We decided it was time to move from "acquisition" to "activation" of our parks and to connect our community to these wonderful natural resources. We changed our name to the "Timucuan Trail Parks Foundation" and underwent an intense strategic planning session in the fall of 2010.
Today, the Timucuan Trail Parks Foundation is now focused on telling the historical and cultrual stories of North Florida and connecting our community to their parks. We have only begun to understand and appreciate the richness and immensity of our history and culture.
We are excited and eager to share the secrets and treasures that have been discovered and to uncover those that are waiting to be discovered.
These “special places” are here for each one of us, now and for future generations.
