Luck is changing for Mala Compra plantation

The local news desk learned that the Society for Historical Archaeology has honored Flagler County with its 2010 Merit Award, the first of its kind in Florida, for preserving the nineteenth-century plantation, Mala Compra.

The plantation, located south of Marineland on A1A in the Hammock, was once named a “bad deal” but it is finally changing its luck after more than 200 years.

The 2010 Merit Award honors the County and its commitment to sharing the site with the community. As anyone who has ever visited Mala Compra knows, it did not always sparkle as it does today.

Joseph Hernandez owned the property in the early 1800’s and struggled to make a profit off its crops. After the plantation burned to the ground during the Second Seminole War, it became lost to time and all traces of it disappeared beneath the surface.

In 1989, Flagler County purchased the land and during routine clearing accidentally uncovered one of Mala Compra’s wells.

A team of archaeological, historical, and conservation experts worked together to study and interpret the site.

Guests walk along an elevated platform under a pavilion to view displays of artifacts and documents, listen to Hernandez tell his story through speakers in informational kiosks, and see the actual location of the features described with the aid of push-button spotlights.

It is one of only two places in Florida where an open excavation is on permanent display, and the best part is that it’s free!

“This award belongs to all the volunteers and staff members who worked on and continue to work on this site,” Flagler County Commission Chairman George Hanns said. “It is definitely something the entire county can be proud of.”

During their January meeting, the commission took another great stride by unanimously voting to commit to a countywide archaeological ordinance.

Despite Joseph Hernandez’s bad fortune, it appears that there is more good fortune yet to come out of Mala Compra and Flagler County in the future.

Photo credit: © 2010 Historic City News photographer Kerry McGuire