Bartram Trail in Putnam County

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Hike, Bike & Paddle in the footsteps of William Bartram!

While the travels of William Bartram in Florida are well known, amazingly few are aware of the nearly identical journey made by his father, John Bartram, and that William had accompanied him on this trip up the St. Johns River nearly a decade earlier.

The locations are based on the information and descriptions provided in the three documents, the Journal, the Report and Travels, collectively. Other resources that were used to establish the locations include the many online tools and documents that were not available to earlier researchers like Francis Harper, as well as information contributed by Putnam County residents and River experts that have first-hand and intimate knowledge of the St. Johns River and Putnam County. The routes shown in the various maps and figures and the locations provided are based on the best information available at the time they were drafted. The commentary provided for each site presents the rationale for the chosen location, descriptions of the likely routes to and from the site and any conflicting arguments that may arise from comparing the information provided in each of the Bartram documents. In this way, the individual reader can determine for themselves where they are indeed following in the wake and walking in the footsteps of the Bartrams as they explored Putnam County.