Haunted Cedar Key - Part Two

Shell Mound

Just off the island down County Road 347, is the Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge. It encompasses acres of swampland and woods, including an area known as Shell Mound.

At the turn of the century this area was sparsely populated, and maintained a roguish air. It was said to be frequented by pirates intent on concealing their ill-gotten gains. Quick and silent passage could be made by boat through the back marshes and bayous.

Young Annie Simpson had heard the tales of pirates, but never gave them any heed. She and her giant wolfhound roamed the woods and swamps with carefree abandon, picking wildflowers and sweet summer berries. She vanished one day, along with her dog, never to be seen again. Rumors and speculation say she stumbled upon a band of pirates burying their treasure, and they killed her to guard their secret.

As the years passed, local fishermen began to talk of a ghostly vision drifting through the woods. A vision of a beautiful young girl wearing a pale blouse and long dark skirt, standing at the edge of the woods, her hand resting on the head of a giant shaggy hound. She would seem to silently beckon, hand outstretched imploring them to follow her. Other times she would simply fade away like mist upon the water.

There have been stories from treasure hunters searching the area, who have unearthed small caches of coins. Once someone claimed to have found bits and pieces of an old iron bound wood chest beneath one of the giant oaks. The strangest discovery was that of the intact skeleton of a very large dog, but poor Annie Simpson's body was never found. Maybe that's why she still wanders those woods, she's waiting for someone to find her and take her back home.

Today the road to Shell Mound is still sparsely inhabited. The area offers hiking trails and a boardwalk/pier for bird watching and fishing. The woods still boast some old stately moss covered oaks, and the swamp still blooms with wildflowers in the spring.

Seahorse Key

The city of Cedar Key is located on one of a series of barrier islands that lay scattered out across the Gulf of Mexico. Each of the small islands has both a unique name, and a colorful history. If you walk out onto the city pier, and look off towards the west, your view will encompass one named Seahorse Key.

Seahorse's long history includes it's use as an internment camp for captive Indians awaiting relocation westward. It once housed a garrison of yellow fever victims from the 1st Infantry group of Fort Armistead. It played a key roll in the Civil War, when blockade-runners used it. Pirates supposedly snuck into it's interior to bury their treasure.
It's sad and often bloody history has given way to one of tranquility, as it is now a protected wildlife sanctuary. The island plays host to a variety of migratory birds who nest upon it's secluded shores. Students from the University of Florida document the feathered visitors, and conduct various studies of the habitat. Oh, and then there are the denizens of the shadows. Spectral figures from the past who linger on, guarding the secrets of Seahorse Key.

Legend has it that Jean Lafitte, the infamous pirate, made use of Seahorse to hide his plunder. Since pirates tend to be a cutthroat mix of vagabonds and thieves, he left behind his trusted man Pierre to guard the location of the hidden treasure. Pierre patrolled the island from the back of his golden palomino steed. His days were long and lonely ones. When a soft-spoken snake hunter named Leon came ashore to hunt his quarry, Pierre relaxed his guard, and befriended the man. Leon thought it strange that Pierre and his horse were alone on the island, and over a bottle of rum he asked Pierre to tell him about his life on the key. The rum and loneliness both worked to loosen Pierre's tongue, and he told Leon of the treasure he guarded for Lafitte. The next time Pierre rode off to check on the treasure, Leon skulked along behind. Sneaking up quietly behind Pierre, he drew a knife and stabbed him in the back. To make sure Pierre wouldn't tell anyone of his foul deed, Leon took Pierre's sword and cut his head clean off.

In the years that have followed, many people have claimed to hear the sound of hoof beats thundering down the beach, but no trace of the beast or tracks have ever been found. A few have even sworn they've seen Pierre himself, mounted on his palomino patrolling the shores, his head held firmly in his hand.

In 1851 a lighthouse was built atop the dunes, and William Wilson was hired as the first light keeper. It was said that William was devoted to his job, and that even after his death in 1855, he still climbed the stairs to man the light and lead boats safely to shore. He was even buried on the island close to the lighthouse he had manned for years. Visitors to the lighthouse sometimes hear a sound in the stairwell, like a muffled voice whispering from below.

The grave of Joseph Napoleon Crevasse, who died in 1874, also lies among the palmettos and palms of Seahorse Key. A dedicated ship's captain, he was a blockade-runner during the Civil War, and supposedly still wanders among the trees peering out at the restless sea.

So if you're ever out on the water after the dark of night, and drift over next to Seahorse Key, keep one eye on the water and one eye on the shore, you just don't know what you might see.

(Come back next week for the third and final tale of Haunted Cedar Key)