Amelia Island

Amelia Island, in Nassau County, Florida, is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands stretching along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is 13 miles (21 km) long and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) wide at its widest point. The communities of Fernandina Beach and Amelia City are both located on the island.

The island was named for Princess Amelia, daughter of George II of Great Britain, and changed hands between colonial powers a number of times. It is claimed that eight flags have flown over Amelia Island: French, Spanish, British, Patriot, Green Cross, Mexican, Confederate, and United States.

The Amelia Island Trail is a part of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile-long system of trails connecting Maine to Florida.

American Indian bands associated with the Timucua people settled on the island around 1000, which they called Napoyca. They remained there until the early 18th century. In 1562, French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault became the first recorded European visitor to Napoyca, and he named the island Île de Mai. In 1565, Spanish forces led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles drove the French from northeastern Florida by attacking their stronghold at Fort Caroline on the Rivière de Mai (later called Río de San Juan by the Spanish) and then slaughtering Ribault and perhaps 350 other French colonists who had been shipwrecked further down the coast.

Spanish Franciscans established the Santa María de Sena mission in 1573 on the island, which they named Isla de Santa María. In the early 17th century, some of the remnants of depopulated Mocama settlements were moved to Santa María de Sena.

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