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Murphy DeBary SJR
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102+/- acres located on Fort Florida Road in DeBary, with the western boundary of the property on the St. Johns River. The property presently supports an agricultural activity, the grazing of cattle. Several structures are located on the property. Much of the natural areas on the Murphy property have been converted to pasture. Many large canopy trees have been retained and provide clues to the historic habitat in the pasture areas. On the higher elevations, most likely historically sandhill, mature slash and longleaf pine are more prevalent and scattered in the existing groundcover of bahia grass. Laurel oaks have invaded the suspected sandhill habitat as a result of fire suppression. The abundance of the laurel and live oaks has created canopy conditions similar to an upland mixed forest, although the understory diversity is lacking. A small blackwater stream traverses the property. Small bluffs, approximately 10 feet above the river, constitute the shoreline along the St. Johns River.

This tract of land was once part of 6,000+ acres that comprised the DeBary family estate in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The property is located in a zone of high probability for archeological site occurrence, due to its immediate proximity to the St. Johns River, a water body of high resource value to prehistoric and historic peoples.


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