Camp Dunlawton (Port Orange, Volusia County, Florida)
Port Orange, Volusia County · Florida · Second Seminole War
History & Significance
In August 1804, Patrick Dean, a merchant from the Bahamas, and his uncle John Bunch, a planter from Nassau, were granted by the Spanish Crown land in Florida; Dean established a 995-acre indigo and sugarcane plantation in what is now the Port Orange area, using enslaved African labor. In 1832, the property was sold to Sarah Anderson and her two sons for $4,500; the name Dunlawton combined her maiden name, Dunn, with land dealers' name Lawton; the brothers operated the mill until December 1835, when the Second Seminole Indian War began.
In January 1836, the Florida militia established a temporary fortification at the plantation; when plantation buildings were already burning, Major Putnam's detachment and the Mosquito Roarers arrived to confront a large Seminole war party. On January 17, volunteers and Seminoles met at the Battle of Dunlawton; the volunteers lost four men with thirteen wounded.
Seminole war chief King Phillip was captured at Dunlawton Plantation and later held prisoner at Fort Marion in St. Augustine. On August 28, 1973, the site was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places; the ruins are now part of the Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Sugar mill ruins from 19th-century plantation
- Site of December 1835 Seminole attack during Second Seminole War
- Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens botanical setting with historic structures
- Original indigo and sugarcane estate operated with enslaved labor
Sources
- https://flaglercountyhistoricalsociety.com/second-seminole-war-1835-1842-fortifications-in-the-volusia-and-flagler-county-area/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunlawton_Plantation_and_Sugar_Mill
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Seminole_War