The Haddocks of Wiregrass

Fort Tonyn

Fort Tony was a small British fort built during the American Revolution every near Kings Ferry, Florida.

A Florida Times Union artist's conception of what Fort Tonyn might have looked like in 1777.

Named for the last British Governor of East Florida, Col. Patrick Tonyn, the structure was not officially recognized as a fort by the British.

The name “Fort Tonyn” was probably supplied by American military authorities to a small British outpost on the St. Marys River.

Fort Tonyn was built by the British in about 1777 of timber and earthworks.

"It is believed, based on a map drawn in the 1780s, that Ft. Tonyn had four bastions...if there were in fact, three, the fort might have looked something like Ft. Barrington on the Altamaha River in Georgia....From the shape of the hill, I believe the fort had a roughly triangular shape, with each side a different length than the others. The sides were between 150 and 200 feet each," noted Florida State Archaeology Robert S. Carr during a 1975 excavation at the site of Kings Ferry's old saw mill.

The fort served as a base of operations for the East Florida Rangers who were organized by Governor Tonyn in 1776 and placed under the command of a Georgia Loyalist, Lt. Col. Thomas Browne.

The Georgia Militia made three attempts to end the British occupation of East Florida.

The second attempt in 1777 resulted in a major skirmish at Thomas Creek (near Route 301 and the Duval-Nassau County line).

Some thirteen months later, Major General Howe led the Georgians in recrossing the St. Marys River with some 3,000 Continental troops to recapture Fort Tonyn in 1778 after the British had evacuated and retreated south. They then went on to engage the British at the Battle of Alligator Creek near Callahan, Florida.

The Little Mill with the tug boat, "Mayflower" at the mill slip with the boat house and the steeple of the Methodist Church in the background. This was the first mill operated by J. Mizell & Brother. After Fort Tonyn "rotted into obscurity" the Mizell brothers built the lumber mill on the site of the former military site.

The Americans remained at Tonyn until July 14, 1778 when they withdrew into Georgia.

The fort was abandoned soon after and rotted into obscurity.

The same location in the mid-1800’s was used for a thriving saw mill operation and became known as Woodstock Mills.

Spain entered the Revolutionary War on the side of France against England—and captured Pensacola in 1781.

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, England was forced to recede all of Florida to Spain.

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