The Joseph Hernandez Home in Bunnell, Florida

Joseph Hernandez was the first Hispanic Congressman in the United States and the first mayor of St. Augustine, Florida. His 19th Century plantation will soon become an outdoor museum and record of 19th Century Florida history. The home was called the Mala Compra Plantation. The name Mala Compra means “ bad bargain ” in Spanish. It appears that General Hernandez did not think very much of his purchase. 

The home in the city of Bunnell was worked by Hernandez’s people from 1816 to 1836. The 323 acre greenway cost Hernandez $1500.00. The land was surveyed in 1818 and by then several structures and a road existed. Also in 1818, Hernandez purchased another plantation called Bella Vista to expand Mala Compra. He cultivated both plantations. The main crop grown on Mala Compra was cotton. By 1835, buildings on the plantation included the family house (the foundation of which exists today and is being excavated), a cotton house, a corn house, slave shacks, and various other buildings. Hernandez also had horses, cattle, a cotton gin and farm tools on his plantation. The big house had six rooms and was one and a half stories high. The home stood 30 feet by 18 feet in dimension. The stone foundation went down three feet and there was a cellar. 

The coquina rubble is being picked apart. Archaeologists are currently working on what they think is the two hundred year old kitchen. Once the largest plantation in northeast Florida, the home was unfortunately burned during the Second Seminole War. For the last five years, Flagler County has excavated, applied for grants, and prepared for this site to be a museum. The state gave $362,000.00 and the county gave $ 250,000.00 in grants for the excavation. The former plantation is located near Bing’s Landing on AIA. The future museum will be interactive.