Pellicer made history as he led the escape of the Minorcans from the Andrew Turnbull's plantation to St. Augustine. After obtaining the land grant he lived on this land for about 38 years. Pellicer had 18 children however 12 of them were born here. Eventually the land was known as Pellicer Plantation where corn, cotton, and sugar cane were grown.  H.C. Sloggett introduced orange trees to the area and this became one of the first orange grove locations in Florida.

What makes the places unique is that this is the only Spanish Land grant in eastern Florida that has ever remained in its natural state according to configuration and size as originally granted. The property never was divided therefore this land is historically significant. 

In the 1840s to the 1880s the area known as Cherokee Grove was nothing but wilderness and very isolated. Timber and Turpentine production were the economic activities in the area. Since the area sat along the Matanzas river the only access to the area was either by steam boat or carriage on the old King's Highway. 

Old King's Highway or Road rather was one of the first roads laid out in the new world. The road was constructed in 1632 and many pioneers used it. Most of the road today has been paved however for a few miles in a very woodsy, shells, rocky, and dirt covered road. Along one of the oldest sections of this road is where Cherokee Grove sits.

Let me be honest with you rather then talk about the entire history of Old King's Road I will be brief to give you an idea of things. First off and foremost along Old King's Road many plantations were built nearby. Plantations like Bulow, Mala Compra, Oswald, Dunlawton etc etc. Many prominent famous people traveled on this road people like John Audubon or President Jackson. Old kings road is said to be the place where at least 1,500 soldiers lost their lives. The road was destroyed many times by the Seminoles as they burnt down bridges.

The road was said to have even existed 3000 years ago and was in use by the Timucuan Indians who would migrate to various villages along the East Coast of Florida. The road today is mainly myth simply because over the years pavement, bulldozing, housing etc have erased all traces of it except the stretch that runs along Princess Place or should we say Cherokee Grove. At one time their was an Indian mound which sat in the middle of Old King's road containing pottery and artifacts a bulldozer leveled that to pave it. 

But imagine this the road has a violent history of war, massacres, and violence. It was used in the Civil War, Revolutionary Wars, all 3 Seminole Wars, and many other conclusive battles in Florida's history. I guess that I felt that it was important to talk about this road since it runs right parallel with Princess Place. Driving down Old Kings Road at night can be quite an adventure but just imagine having to get out of your car as many different sprits watch you on this dark dirt road as we enter Princess Place. To learn more about the road more in depth you can visit this link http://www.flaglerlibrary.org/history/oldkingsrd/start.htm 

Now going back to Cherokee grove a man by the name of Henry Cutting a New England Sportsman purchased the grove an surrounding property. He was a shipping magnate and prominent New Yorker who visited St. Augustine very often. He ended up purchasing the land from H.C. Sloggett. Cutting then constructed a large hunting lodge with a pool, servants quarters, caretakers house which is now a tavern, bath houses, riding stables, tennis courts, and established one of the largest commercial citrus groves in the area. 

Henry Cutting constructed the hunting lodge on the property which had an Adirondack Camp Style design. This lodge may be the only example of this style of architecture in the state of Florida. The lodge was constructed from a rare pink coquina mined from the beaches in Flagler County. The wrap around porch was made of cedar and the columns were made of palm trunks. The first in ground swimming pool in the state of Florida was built on the site however some say the one behind Debary Hall may be older. The fresh water pool is fed by a continuous flow of an artesian well. Their is also other artesian wells on the property. The lodge became an entertainment center for many prominent invididuals in the New England and Chicago areas as well as royalty from all over the world. 

In 1888 Henry Cutting married a woman named Angela Mills and had a wedding ceremony at Grave Church In New York City. Angela Mills Cutting was born In New Jersey and after her marriage Cherokee grove was the center for many social activities for prominent people on the east coast.

Sadly in 1892 Henry Cutting died on his boat between St. Augustine and Cherokee Grove on the Matanzas River. Some say his death was a mystery however some say he was bitten by a rattle snake and while enroute to St. Augustine did not make it in time for medical attention. 

In the mid 1890s the orange groves were all destroyed by the severe freeze which also affected many other places like the ghost town of Saint Frances which we also investigated. Sadly in 1899 Angel's youngest son Henry M. Cutting died of diptheria while enroute to Paris on a boat just like his father died in a similar circumstance. 

In 1901 Angela Cutting Married J. Lorimer Worden a wealthy New York stockbroker she met when she was in NY. Angel Mills Cutting Worden was a very wealthy woman however 19 years later that marriage ended in a bitter divorce. Then in 1938 Worden disappeared at sea another strange incident having to do with death while traveling by vessel. 

Just two years after the divorce Angela Mills Cutting Worden marriaged Boris Sherbatoff who was an exiled Russian Princess. Sherbatoff was a member of one of the families claiming the thrown in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. The prince feared for his life so he changed his name to Sherbatow. He spent most of his time in St. Augustine at the Ponce De Leon Hotel rather then Cherokee Grove with his wife. 

Angela Mills Cutting Worden sadly lived to see the untimely death of her son Hayward Cutting who was killed in a automobile accident in 1926 just 3 years after her marriage to the prince. By however marring the prince she was given the name or title princess. In 1949 the prince passed on I do not know of the reasons. Princess Sherbatow owned the property living in the lodge her first husband built. The lodge was very large many hall ways, rooms,  and amenities. In some way I pity the princess as for 5 years she spent a very lonely life here no sons, no husband just a lodge in the middle of the woods. 

In 1954 the princess sold the property to Angela and Lewis Wadsworth one of Florida's leading timber men. She died only two years later in 1956 at her residence at 168 Bay St in St. Augustine.  Lewis Wadsworth was born in 1916 and worked with his father at the age of 14 in the turpentine business. He started a saw mill called the Wadsworth Lumber Company and many other businesses after the death of his father. He was responsible for building a permanent caretaker's home on the princess place property known as the island  house built in 1976. The caretakers house looked more like another lodge or sort of a tree house the way it extended out over the top. It was surrounded by swamp and marshes kind of odd but very secluded. 

Wadsworth was a director for the Florida Power and Light Company and the Atlantic Bank Of St. Augustine. He served three terms as the president of the Florida Forestry Association. He received awards like the prestigious Sears Foundation Award for conservation and forestry. He started the Flagler Chamber of Commerce and worked hard at bringing industry to the area for jobs. He brought ITT to the area which was called ITT Wadsworth when they combined.  So again the connection to this all is that Wadsworth was very prominent to the area much like the princess was who owned the property. 

In 1981 Angela Carpenter Wadsworth died then in 1985 Mr Wadsworth had also passed on. His son Lewis the 3rd of St Augustine and Bunnel, a daughter of Virginia E. Wadsworth of Boulder and his wife Sonia Martina Wadsworth now live adjacent to the princess place property. This may explain the odd light we seen near on some property near the entrance.  

Lewis Wadsworth's grandchildren named Lewis Wadworth IV an Brill Wadsworth grew up at the princess place estate still owned by their mother and stepfather Donna and Paul Katz. This may explain the strange lit house that went dim about 3am on the property deep in the woods.

In 1988 Conway and Polly Kittredge owned the land and estate when efforts failed for an acquisition failed for the state and county to take ownership.  In 1993 Flagler county purchased roughly 435 acres using acquisition funds surrounding the Princess Place Estate making it into a preserve. In 1994 the Princess Place Preserve was formally dedicated by Governor Lawton Chiles. In 1995 an additional 1,100 acres were added to the preserve. The preserve was now over 2,200 acres of marshes, swamps, woods, canoe trails, and wild life. 

By 1999 the Princess Place Preserve was recognized as a historic preservation site and the lodge was completely restored to its original look. I consider this place to be amazing I mean as  you walk along the dirt roads you will see things like the care takers house, some wood structures, a barn stable like structure, the lodge which is all lit up at night, a tavern which is probably the old care takers house, various gardens, the old swimming pool where water trickles from, and even a bathhouse. Their is just so much to see here that you never know what is watching you. Even the dark road which takes you way back into the woods to various locations over marsh land and woods gives you an opportunity to see all the stars in the sky.

But the reason I perhaps chose to investigate this is not just cause of its history but because the area seems to have a sad past. I mean the Princess lived to see all 3 of her husbands die including her two sons. Almost all the deaths around her were similar so maybe perhaps the area itself is cursed maybe their is some kind of connection to these tragic events. 

But the area although very beautiful and luring has a dark history. I mean people have died in the general area just as life ended it also began. Its a place of imagination their are no cars, highways near by, houses, or people. Its a place where anything can hide whether it would be a deer watching from the woods or a ghostly apparition standing in the window of an old tavern on the property.  Certain areas are very unwelcoming while the lodge is comfortable just to sit down in one of the rocking chairs kick your feet up and stare at the calm Matanzas River.  

Then when you put this history of this place together with Old Kings Road what you actually get is one hell of a paranormal hotspot. What is really unique about this is that nobody really has given this place the attention it deserves as far as the paranormal goes. So we were the first group to brave it and venture into the preserve in search of strange things, gators watching us, and fireflies the size of your fist blinking all around us.  You may not see alot of paranormal photos come out of the place because of its vastness but the history speaks for itself.

© By

Rick-AngelOfThyNight