Vintage Times-Union and Willie Browne: People 'ought to have a place in the woods they can go'

Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
"Look at that face," Times-Union columnist Mark Woods wrote in 2010. "This is the face of the man who 40 years ago gave Northeast Florida one of its greatest gifts ever." It's the face of Willie Browne, who donated some 600 acres on the St. Johns River to the Nature Conservancy.
"Look at that face," Times-Union columnist Mark Woods wrote in 2010. "This is the face of the man who 40 years ago gave Northeast Florida one of its greatest gifts ever." It's the face of Willie Browne, who donated some 600 acres on the St. Johns River to the Nature Conservancy.

From six months old until his death at 80, William "Willie" H. Browne III lived a recluse's life on his family's land, 600 beautiful acres. He loved the land so much that in 1969, the year before he died, he announced he was donating it to the Nature Conservancy.

It's now the Theodore Roosevelt Preserve, part of the vast Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Jacksonville's national park is home to a much-used series of hiking trails through the woods and hills along the marshes and the St. Johns River with views for miles.

Ace Times-Union photographer Grover C. Henley's iconic shot of Willie Browne, taken in November 1946 on his family's land, which is now the public's land.
Ace Times-Union photographer Grover C. Henley's iconic shot of Willie Browne, taken in November 1946 on his family's land, which is now the public's land.

My colleague Mark Woods has for years championed Willie Browne's considerable legacy. He told the story about Browne, his younger brother Saxon and their parents.

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"William Henry and Eliza Browne, had come to Jacksonville from New York City in 1882," Woods writes. "They initially settled near downtown Jacksonville. But when yellow fever hit, killing two daughters, they decided to go across the river to property that was a mile from Fulton, the nearest town.

A tombstone marks the births and deaths of brothers Willie and Saxon Browne near the foundation of what was a tiny cabin on their family's land, which Willie donated to the Nature Conservancy in 1969 on the condition that it be left in its natural state.
A tombstone marks the births and deaths of brothers Willie and Saxon Browne near the foundation of what was a tiny cabin on their family's land, which Willie donated to the Nature Conservancy in 1969 on the condition that it be left in its natural state.

"In the early 1900s, their house burned down and Willie and Saxon's parents moved off the land. The boys stayed. And on his 16th birthday, Willie's father officially gave him the land, with a couple of firm directives: He was to take care of it and keep the hunters off it.

"He ended up doing that his entire life — and then some."

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Saxon Browne did all the driving for older brother Willie Browne. Here he is in 1946 in a Ford Model T owned by the brothers on their land north of Mount Pleasant Road and east of Fort Caroline Road. Saxon was born on the land in 1891 and lived with Willie until he died in August 1953.
Saxon Browne did all the driving for older brother Willie Browne. Here he is in 1946 in a Ford Model T owned by the brothers on their land north of Mount Pleasant Road and east of Fort Caroline Road. Saxon was born on the land in 1891 and lived with Willie until he died in August 1953.

Later, in a column calling for a day to honor Browne, he described the simple, reclusive life led by Willie (and Saxon, who died 27 years before Willie on the property):

"He wasn’t famous. He wasn’t rich, although he could have been if he had accepted offers from developers. Instead, he lived in a small cabin, a Model T battery powering a single light bulb. When he died, there was barely enough money to pay for a headstone and fence at the small family cemetery.

"But Willie had this glorious piece of land — with bluffs, hills, marsh and mounds of oyster shells — that he had lived on since he was 6 months old. And he donated it with one stipulation: That nothing be done with it."

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William "Willie" Browne III shows off his family's land in November 1946, which looked down on the St. Johns River in the distance. It's now part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, and home to popular hiking trails with some honest-to-goodness hilly parts (by Florida standards). Thanks to Browne, it's open to anyone.
William "Willie" Browne III shows off his family's land in November 1946, which looked down on the St. Johns River in the distance. It's now part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, and home to popular hiking trails with some honest-to-goodness hilly parts (by Florida standards). Thanks to Browne, it's open to anyone.

Then he quoted Willie Browne's justifiably famous quote, which goes like this: “People have to work in the cities, they can’t live in the woods anymore. But they ought to have a place in the woods they can go."

Well, that about sums it all up.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville's national park grew from land gift by Willie Browne