City of Mary Esther | Committees > Oak Tree Nature Park MAC

The City of Mary Esther is in the process of reviewing old documents pertaining to Archeological finds right here in Oak Tree Nature Park.

William (Bill) Lazarus was the first to discover and record a rich Weeden Island Archaeological Site, (A.D. 500 to 1200) now known as “Oak Tree Nature Park and Archaeological Preserve”. The Park is registered in the Florida Master Site File as 8Ok81.The Park is protected under chapter 267 of the Florida Statutes.

In 1993 Archaeological Consultants Inc. a cultural resource management company from Sarasota Florida, entered into a contract with FDOT to perform a cultural resource assessment of SR 30/HWY 98 for the purpose of widening of the road.

As a result of the archaeological testing by A.C.I. of (8Ok81) Oak Tree Nature Park, both north and south yielded positive results.

It was the conclusion of A.C.I and their opinion that Ok81 was a shell midden artifact scattered site, believed to represent a habitation site. The southern portion of the site area is adjacent to 8Ok29 the Mary Esther Burial Midden and 8Ok24, known as the Kelly site discovered and recorded in 1957 by William Bill Lazarus. Given the proximity and similar dates of these three sites it is possible that 8Ok81, 8Ok24 and 8Ok29 are components of a single more extensive site.

On the basis of the ceramic types found in 1993 by A.C.I. the Oak Tree Nature Park in Mary Esther (8Ok81) is dated to the Weeden Island Period A.D. 600-900 and the Fort Walton Period A.D. 900-1700. It is based on these findings that A.C.I agrees with William Bill Lazarus who originally discovered the site in 1965.

THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA

In 1999 / 2002 The University of West Florida students and community volunteers surveyed Oak Tree Nature Park property, (now known as Oak Tree Nature Park and Archaeological Preserve) for cultural resources under the direction of UWF Archaeology Institute professor Norma Harris. The survey uncovered three cultural periods: Archaic (4000-1000 B.C.), Weeden Island (A.D. 500-1200), and Pensacola (A.D. 1200-1700). A variety of artifacts have been recovered in the park including bone, shell, pottery sherds and stone tools. Oak Tree Nature Park is listed in the Florida Master Site File as 8Ok81 and is protected under chapter 267. of the Florida Statutes.