Residents seek help to preserve Amelia City’s history

The historic community of Amelia City, on Amelia Island’s south end, is getting help from Nassau County to better distinguish the neighborhood and help preserve its unique sense of place.

Amelia City residents and county officials recently held the first of a series of “placemaking” workshops to collect ideas on how to map Amelia City and add signage and markers to distinguish the community. The efforts are off to a good start, with another community workshop planned for mid-July, according to Elizabeth Backe, chief of planning and zoning for the county.

Amelia City “is a very interesting and historic area on Amelia Island,” Backe said. “The intent of this project is to progress the scope of work, which includes capturing the history of this unique place, establishing the current boundaries of Amelia City, considering branding/imaging for potential future signage and placemaking materials and exploring future potential projects to celebrate the distinct character of Amelia City.”

Amelia City was traditionally thought to include the area just south of the Fernandina Beach city border, at Canopy Drive, south to about Scott Road; and from the Amelia River east to the ocean, said Tommy Oliver, an Amelia City resident who has helped advocate for preservation of the neighborhood. The area is rich in history. The land was originally part of a land grant issued in 1791 to a Spaniard named Antonio Suarez.

In the 1920s, the area changed rapidly when an oyster farm was started by a resident named Gustav Gerbing. The ensuing hamlet of Amelia City included a restaurant, store and post office. Gerbing was also the creator of a mid-century attraction known as Gerbing Gardens. His family cultivated and developed a range of azalea and camellia shrubs on a 15-acre plot that included sunken gardens, a terraced amphitheater, rose gardens, picnic grounds, live oaks, cedars, magnolia and wisteria trees. Gerbing Gardens was open to the public for about 20 years.

Eventually, the land was subdivided into residential lots. However, the area off Gerbing Road is still thick with beautiful azaleas and camellias. Some current homeowners whose land is part of the old gardens have nurtured many of the shrubs.

“The gardens were closed around 1949, and the area of the original gardens is maintained by the Gerbing Gardens Subdivision Homeowners Association comprised of residents who purchased portions of the original Gerbing Azalea Gardens plat, which dates from 1942,” Backe said. “Numerous camellias and azaleas have survived since the 1930s and 1940s.”

“Gerbing Gardens was a showplace here,” Oliver said. “Gerbing also had the first oyster house in Florida. These were the jewels of the community.”

Efforts to salvage the identity of the community began in 2024 when the Amelia Baptist Church, located at the intersection of S. Fletcher Avenue and Buccaneer Trail, announced plans to build condominium towers with 24 units, a pool and parking lots on land it owns behind the church. Part of the plans included converting the rural-looking, unpaved Shadow Woods Lane into a main thoroughfare to enter the condominium property.

Residents of Shadow Woods Lane and surrounding streets protested the change, saying it would ruin the unique Amelia City vibe.

“The development would have pretty much destroyed the Shadow Woods neighborhood,” Oliver said. “If somebody wanted to come in do that type of development, that would require changing the look and feel of the place.”

Amelia Baptist Church dropped its condominium plans, but the sense that Amelia City was under threat remained, Oliver said. While future development of the area may be inevitable, residents want a voice in how their community evolves.

“Residents of Amelia City have reached out to county staff and elected officials over the past few years, concerned about the possible loss of the historical narrative for this area,” Backe said. “A related concern has been that with certain landmarks gone; any last remaining historical components could also be lost before we are able to capture and document them.”

Backe said the county’s project, which will conclude later this summer, is comprised of data collection, such as historical research, determining an Amelia City map and working on branding and signage to distinguish the neighborhood. However, Backe said any funding for future signage would be a separate project from this one and is not guaranteed by the county.

Amelia City residents appreciate the county’s guidance, Oliver said.

“Our goal is to raise the profile of Amelia City,” he said. “We hope we have enough standing in the community that people are interested in that. We know we can’t stop development, but you can influence it so it’s something you can live with, and it doesn’t destroy the place.”