"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."

The spot to immerse yourself in Amelia Island's rich past. Florida's first spoken-word museum is housed in what was the Nassau County Jailhouse. The infamous pirate Luis Aury, who arrived in Fernandina in 1817 to take over the island, raising the flag of the Mexican Republic, was sentenced to hang for his many crimes. The night before his execution, he attempted to avoid the humiliation by slitting his own throat but was caught and crudely stitched up by a surgeon to keep him alive. He was hanged the next day on the gallows out back. According to locals, Aury's ghost has been heard moaning around the jail, and some have spied an apparition with a bloody gash in his neck

The Williams House is one of the oldest and most historic homes in Fernandina Beach. Purchased by Marcellus A. Williams in 1858, the Williams family fled for safety when Union troops occupied their house during the civil war. Upon his return to the island and his home, Williams released his slaves. A secret room exists near the dining room that was used to hide them until they were safe to travel. This antebellum mansion is said to be haunted by party guests. Witnesses have heard laughter and friendly chatter from the dining room and seen apparitions descending the staircase. A female apparition often appears in a mirror near the stairs, and a ghostly man and woman are known to make eye contact with the guests and then disappear suddenly. The ghosts and atmosphere are said to be friendly and happy.

Appropriately nicknamed "Beautiful Woods," Bosque Bello Cemetery is one of the most stunning and oldest cemeteries in the state of Florida. "In Bosque Bello, you will discover the graves of 19th-century Spanish residents, Amelia Island Lighthouse keepers, gun runners, politicians, boat captains, magicians, law enforcement officers, victims of both yellow and typhoid fever epidemics, nuns, and veterans of many wars - from the American Revolution to the present day." Throughout the years, visitors have reported hearing disembodied voices and laughter amongst the graves, especially once the sun sets on the cemetery. Ghosts in the form of children have been seen wandering throughout the grounds, some even sitting high in the treetops watching your every move.

In the center of the island, the Egan's Creek Greenway is a protected 300-acre oasis of marsh landscape with walking and bike trails providing ample chances to view wildlife. Wildlife of a different kind reportedly led a pirate to bury a substantial treasure here in 1900 and then kill his accomplices, leaving a chain over the limb of a large oak tree to mark the spot. As the pirate finished covering his tracks, a rattlesnake bit him and the pit became his final resting place. If you happen to see the remnants of a rusty chain in a tree during your walk, it's recommended that you leave "the money tree" alone!

Built in 1857 as a boarding house for his railroad employees, the Florida House housed Union officers during the Civil War. One of them, Major Leddy, bought it after the war and ran it as a hotel with his wife. They entertained glittering guests including the Carnegies and Rockefellers, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti, automotive tycoon Henry Ford, and early film stars Mary Pickford and Laurel and Hardy. One person from the old times seems to have been so fond of it that she has never left: "Miz Leddy," the major's wife. Bartenders still catch the scent of her strong lavender perfume and her antique shoes tend to disappear from their display near the desk and wind up in guest rooms.

Fort Clinch is one of the most well-preserved 19th-century forts in the country and although it never saw an actual battle, it was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American wars. After preservation began on the old abandoned fort in the 1930s, it became a part of the state park system in 1935. There have been quite a few ghostly tales associated with the old fort but probably the most popular is the legend of a Civil War soldier stationed there who wrote his dearly beloved a letter in which he promised not to die until he saw her again. Unfortunately, he didn't fulfill that promise and died during a Confederate ambush. His angry ghost is said to roam the fort so if you see a Confederate soldier somberly walking the grounds at dusk, you may want to turn the other way.

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the site of the original town of Fernandina, now known as "Old Town," was settled over 1000 years ago by Timucua Native Americans. In the centuries that followed, this riverfront enclave had been the site of a Spanish fort, the neighborhood of a witch named Felipa who was famous for love potions, and the lovingly preserved 1880s Captain's House that served as a setting for a Pippi Longstocking movie filmed here in the 1980s. It is said a 16-year-old who drowned in the river appears to teenagers of today If they visit the old Plaza San Carlos on their 16th birthdays.

The oldest bar in Florida, the Palace likes to say that in its storied rooms, "ghosts from ten decades past join in drinking to your health." Legendary bartender Charlie Beresford held court from 1906 until 1960 and made extra money with a bar game of his own devising: He bet customers that they couldn't flip a quarter onto the decolletages of the carved mahogany ladies behind the bar and have the coin stay there. At the end of his shift, he filled his pockets with the quarters he scooped from the floor. Bartenders of today have felt a cold hand on their shoulders when they have tried to get this particular game going. Sounds of music, glasses clinking, and conversations are heard in the early hours of the morning even when the bar is deserted, and, although it is unplugged, an electric player piano is known to start up a tune at the strangest of times.

The Charlotte Terry group has been given boxes to send to support our troops by the Military Moms Prayer Group. Come by our office to pick up a box to fill and mail to our military heroes!

Please follow the list below, as they are approved by the U.S. Military.