Monster Sightings: The Two Egg Stump Jumper is Back!

Parramore Landing Park east of Two Egg

Florida's famed Two Egg Stump Jumper has returned after a two year silence!

The legendary monster has been reported for many decades in the woods and swamps a few miles east of the quaint little community of Two Egg, Florida. It is said to be a "mini-Bigfoot" type creature that frequents swampy areas around the historic ghost town of Old Parramore.

One of the new incidents is particularly unique because it involved six eyewitnesses at one time. None of them actually saw the creature, but they heard something large shadowing them as they returned to Parramore Landing Park after dark from a hike into the swamps. The noise was accompanied by a loud "growl" or "roar" that they all heard multiple times, a sound that was different from anything they had ever heard in the area.

Other eyewitnesses have confirmed the strange sounds coming from the swamps around Parramore Landing Park.

Yet another eyewitness actually saw the creature as it ran through the headlights of her car a short distance west of Circle Hill Baptist Church on Circle Hill Road. The sighting took place a few miles northwest of Parramore Landing.

To read the full story on the new sightings, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/monster4.

History for Christmas? Consider one of my books on Jackson County's colorful past

Battle of Marianna Monument

If you are looking for a unique Christmas gift that captures the flavor of Jackson County's rich and colorful past, please consider one or more of my books on this beautiful place that so many of us call home.  Here is a list of the volumes currently available. 
All of them are also available as instant downloads for your Amazon Kindle reading devise and the Battle of Marianna book can also be found at iBooks for your iPad, Nook, etc.

Also be sure to watch in coming days for the release of my latest volume, The Claude Neal Lynching: The 1935 Murders of Claude Neal and Lola Cannady.

All of the following are available at Chipola River Book & Tea on Lafayette Street in Downtown Marianna (right across the street from the Battle of Marianna Monument), or you can click the link to order through Amazon online:

A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida
My first work of fiction, this is a short Christmas story set in the quaint Two Egg community of Jackson County.  Please click here to order.

Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends & Unusual Facts
Learn the story of Two Egg plus a number of other Northwest Florida legends, including the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge, the Washington County Volcano, the Garden of Eden, Two-Toed Tom and more! Please click here to order.

The Battle of Marianna, Florida (Expanded Edition)
A detailed account of the September 27, 1864, battle in the streets of Marianna that marked the high point of the deepest Federal raid into Florida during the entire Civil War.  Contains detailed troop lists and casualty information.  Please click here to order.

The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years (Volume One)
The most detailed account ever written of the early history of Jackson County, including details on Indian villages, Spanish missions, Seminole War battles, early settlement, the "lost county," crime and more!  Please click here to order.

The History of Jackson County, Florida: The War Between the States (Volume Two, The Civil War Years)
The most detailed account ever written of the Civil War years in Jackson County, including the Battle of Marianna, the Battle of Forks of the Creek, the Battle of Port Jackson, deserter raids, troop rosters, genealogical information, Governor John Milton and more. Please click here to order.

Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town
The fascinating history of Old Parramore, a ghost town located near the Chattahoochee River in Jackson County, Florida. Learn the history of the rich steamboat era when paddlewheel riverboats were the most important mode of transportation for the area.  Please click here to order.

Old Parramore marks 50th Annual Oak Grove Homecoming

Rev. Cap Pooser leads the Veterans Memorial Dedication

One of Jackson County's most unique events marked its 50th anniversary today as a crowd gathered in the ghost town of Old Parramore to celebrate the annual Oak Grove Homecoming.
Each year on the first Sunday of October, the old town comes back to life as former residents and their families gather to share memories, friendship and dinner on the grounds in what was once the heart of a thriving Chattahoochee River trading community. This year's event was the 50th such gathering and featured cannon firings, music from the Sheila Smith Trio and the dedication of a memorial to local veterans.

Memorial and Flag

Parramore grew as a significant community during the years after the Civil War due to a surge in the value of timber and turpentine products from the vast longleaf pine forests that once covered eastern Jackson County. Paddlewheel riverboats nudged up to landings at the community, providing a means of transportation for its products and commerce. The steamboat traffic sparked the growth of a thriving business community.

By the end of the 19th century, Parramore had become a signficant commercial, industrial and population center. The main business district boasted five stores, a cotton gin, sawmill, gristmill, blacksmith shop, mule lot and other businesses. Turpentine stills operated at locations surrounding the community and rafts of pine timber were floated down the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers to the shipyards at Apalachicola.

The Sheila Smith Trio

The introduction of paved highways and truck traffic in the first half of the 20th century, however, spelled the end of Parramore's days as a business center. Trucks replaced riverboats as the primary means of moving forest products and steamboat traffic on the Chattahoochee River faded away during the 1930s and 1940s. The town of Old Parramore faded away with the boats.

In 1961, however, current and former residents of the area began a tradition that continues to this day. The annual Oak Grove Homecoming at Old Parramore was initiated as a way to preserve the memory of the town and its former residents. Some of those present for today's 50th anniversary celebration were on hand for that original gathering.

Rev. Cap Pooser, Alfred Cox and James Harrell with Cannon

The annual event spurred the preservation of Oak Grove Cemetery and the adjoining site of the original Oak Grove Freewill Baptist Church as a grounds for the homecoming. A modern brick church, which opens its doors only once each year, was built at the site as a memorial to the pioneer families of the area.

So far as is known, the annual Oak Grove Homecoming is the only annual gathering at a Florida ghost town that has continued for five decades. It is a unique part of Florida culture.

To learn more about the history of the community, please consider my book: Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town. It can be ordered on the right side of this page or as an instant download for Amazon Kindle at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/kindle. It is also available at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna.

Large Crowd enjoys annual Oak Grove Homecoming at Old Parramore

People gather at Old Parramore

A large crowd turned out in the beautiful fall weather on Sunday, October 3rd, for the 49th Annual Oak Grove Homecoming at Old Parramore.

Parramore was a riverboat port that thrived on the Chattahoochee River in eastern Jackson County from around 1885 until the paddlewheel riverboats stopped running in 1927. At its height, the town had 5 stores, a cotton gin, gristmill, blacksmith shop, sawmill, post office and four turpentine stills as well as a series of landings along the river.

The photos below are from the 2010 event at historic Oak Grove Baptist Church, which opens its doors only once each year (for the annual homecoming). Next year will mark the 50th year for the homecoming, which brings together people from all over the country with ties to the historic community.

Basford Brothers Quartet

Dinner on the Grounds

The Picnic Pavilion

Oak Grove Church, a memorial to the people of Old Parramore.

Oak Grove Homecoming at Old Parramore set for Sunday

The annual Oak Grove Homecoming will be held this Sunday (October 3rd) at Old Parramore in eastern Jackson County.

Parramore was a town that thrived from around 1885 to 1927 as a riverboat port where cargoes of lumber, turpentine, cotton, catfish and even gopher tortoises were shipped out on paddlewheel steamboats for transport up or down the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola Rivers. At its height, the community - which was never incorporated but was a town just the same - had five stores, a cotton gin, sawmill, gristmill, blacksmith shop, four turpentine stills, post office and more. Today it has been reclaimed by the pine woods.

Each year on the first Sunday in October, however, Old Parramore comes back to life. Oak Grove Baptist Church, which opens its doors only once a year, plays host to the annual Oak Grove Reunion. The gathering brings people and families with ties to the Parramore area back for conversation, a church service, dinner on the grounds and music.

This year's event will take place on Sunday and things will get started around 10 a.m. I've donated 20 signed copies of my new book, Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town, to Oak Grove Church and they will be available for donations to the church, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to support the annual homecoming and care of the historic church and grounds.

If you can't make it to the homecoming, the book is also available through Amazon.com by following the link at left.

Old Parramore - New Book by Dale Cox now available!

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2010

A limited number of autographed copies of Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town, the latest book from writer and historian Dale Cox, are now available by order only.

The book is the eighth by Cox, a Jackson County native and graduate of Malone High School, and tells the story of Old Parramore, a once thriving steamboat port on the Chattahoochee River in Jackson County. The town reached its height between 1885 and 1927, before gradually fading away as trucks and trains replaced the paddlewheel riverboats that once nosed up to the town's landings.

The volume will be available in local and online bookstores in about two weeks, but advance orders can now be placed for a limited number of autographed copies by visiting www.twoeggfla.com/oldparramore.

Please allow 10-15 business days for delivery.