The Gamble Plantation Historic State Park (website) is the site of the only antebellum plantation home still standing in peninsular Florida. The park sponsors opportunities for the public and families to participate in a real archaeological excavation.
Today's activities and more scheduled events can be found here. On the day we were there, they found a glass goblet and numerous pieces of metal.
The program is supervised by Dr. Diane Wallman, project PI with the University of South Florida (USF) Department of Anthropology. Her project is described in this pdf.
Public participation is facilitated through the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN).
The Gamble Plantation Historic State Park is located in Ellenton, FL, on the south side of Tampa Bay situated on the north bank of the Manatee River, which afforded transportation routes inland and to ports at sea.
(Source: screenshot of Google Maps by 
The mansion was constructed in the late 1840's and completed around 1850 by Major Robert Gamble, Jr. (b. 1813 in Virginia), who had served in the Seminole War, received 160 acres for homesteading, and arrived at the Manatee River site in 1844 (source). By the time the sugar refinery was destroyed during the Civil War, the estate had grown to 3500 acres (Wikipedia).
It was the temporary residence of Judah P. Benjamin, Senator from Louisiana and Secretary of State for the Confederacy. He used the plantation and it's expansive grounds as a hideout and gateway port as he escaped to Cuba, The Bahamas, and eventually to England.
The architectural style is Greek Doric Revival, and is categorized as Vernacular because it is constructed of unique indigenous materials found in the coastal environment.
The house is constructed of Tabby Concrete, a mixture of crushed shells, sand, ash, water, and lime. The walls are two feet thick, which helps keep the interior cool. Furthermore, the whitewash reflects heat.
Other design features include the north-south orientation with rows of windows along each side. The prevailing winds blow from the west and flow directly through the structure.
All windows and porches are tucked under a large overhanging roof and thus are in the shade all day. All together it is a very effective air conditioner. One can actually feel cool air blowing out of the east side of the house at mid-day when the outside temperature is near 90 degrees F.
A 40,000 gallon covered cistern collected rain water. Mosquito larvae were eaten by fish kept in the water, and it was filtered through partitions of porous tabby before it was gravity-fed toward the collection bucket.
Photo credits: All photos were taken by
