Historic City News readers can celebrate Confederate Memorial Day, the official state holiday, tomorrow on Saturday, April 26, 2025, amongst the beauty of the ancient oak trees laden with Spanish moss and the peaceful waters of Trout Creek along CR 13 North in St Johns County.
The authentic 1879 Confederate Memorial, the second-oldest artifact of its type still in existence in Florida, was constructed entirely with private funds raised by the Ladies Memorial Association of St Augustine. It was built on a public site in the Plaza de la Constitution, under the terms of a 99-year land lease with the City of St Augustine.
“Gather your families and friends during the day on Saturday and visit the relocation site for the authentic memorial cenotaph,” said Michael Gold, executive secretary for the reconstituted Ladies Memorial Association of St Augustine Inc., now a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization. Gold is also a lifetime member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “My paternal great-grandfather, Moses Lilburn Dixon, served the Confederate States of America as a mounted rifleman. But you don’t need to own a rifle or ride a horse to come visit us on this exciting Florida holiday.”
Trout Creek Memorial Park and Marina is located at 6550 State Road 13 N, Saint Augustine, FL 32092. One reader who took the air boat tour wrote, “The marina is incredibly clean, beautiful, plenty of parking and fuel for boats right there. They have a bait, tackle, snack and gift shop too with bathrooms and ATM.”
In September of 2020, the dimwitted city manager, John P Regan Sr, spent well over half a million dollars of taxpayer money to move the memorial to Trout Creek. Declaring an emergency, like the little boy who cried “wolf”, Regan misled the commissioners who wanted to ask more questions before potentially damaging the memorial.
At the time the 141-year-old veterans memorial was moved, it was not seaworthy. There are opportunities to volunteer and participate in preservation of this priceless, irreplaceable asset. Call 904-567-6397 for details.
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