Camp Milton: Civil War history preserved in Jax

A camp occupied by both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War opened to the public this summer as a historic preserve.<br>
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Camp Milton, which was invaded and abandoned by Union forces four times, is now among the 600 sites included in the Civil War Discovery Trail. The camp had its grand opening earlier this summer.<br>
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It was nearly destroyed in the 1990s when its landowner received permits to begin dumping sludge from his septic tank business on the site, according to an official with The Trust for Public Land. The land conservation organization later bought the property and sold it to the city of Jacksonville.<br>
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The 123-acre site currently houses a cracker house built in 1889 and relocated to the site, a bridge similar to those built during the Civil War and a part of the original earthworks that surrounded the camp. Camp Milton is named after John Milton, governor of Florida during the Civil War.<br>
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-- The Associated Press

( PHOTO COURTESY: THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE / September 20, 2006 )

A camp occupied by both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War opened to the public this summer as a historic preserve.

Camp Milton, which was invaded and abandoned by Union forces four times, is now among the 600 sites included in the Civil War Discovery Trail. The camp had its grand opening earlier this summer.

It was nearly destroyed in the 1990s when its landowner received permits to begin dumping sludge from his septic tank business on the site, according to an official with The Trust for Public Land. The land conservation organization later bought the property and sold it to the city of Jacksonville.

The 123-acre site currently houses a cracker house built in 1889 and relocated to the site, a bridge similar to those built during the Civil War and a part of the original earthworks that surrounded the camp. Camp Milton is named after John Milton, governor of Florida during the Civil War.

-- The Associated Press

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