Palatka

The next day we got an early start. Off to Palatka. With a name like that we were sure to find an “Old Florida” feel, right? The name comes from the Timucuan Indian word pilotakata meaning “Crossing.” Palatka was established as a trading post in 1821 and today is the county seat of Putnam County.

The docking situation in Palatka was somewhat up in the air and we came in with a “look—see” attitude. The guides that we referred to about destinations are somewhat behind the times as a major hurricane wiped out facilities here in 2017. Not many cruisers have reported on conditions since then although reading between the lines, I thought that we would find suitable dockage. We pulled into a fine looking dock system and although the finger piers were short, it worked for us.

If a City Dock is available at a stop, it works well for one or two nights. It is free or maybe $20 if there is power and water and you usually are close to the town to explore and provision. Many river towns have no marina available for transient boaters or they cater more to the fishing boat crowd.

This town was not one of our favorite stops. We kept wondering why this town felt so different. It had a dying feel to it compared to others along this river that have a restored, revived and happening feel.

Palatka had its requisite fishing dock which was being used and a nice but small park and playground at its base. There was a beautiful metal fish sculpture and nice, clean restrooms. There was a walkway going along the waterfront with an amphitheater and multi level fountain. The St. John’s River Center provided some basic information formatted for kids. The employee there provided us a bit of information about the docks as this is where you were suppose to check in if you used the docks. He indicated vast upgrades were coming with electric power and water being put on the docks.

This surprised us. Where were they getting this money? There were light fixtures on the current dock, but only down the fishing pier and not in the boat slips. However, the lights did not work. The park had a neglected feel with no gardens or groomed landscaping. The grass/clover had not been cut. There was a lot of litter. Even the wooden boardwalk which passed under the highway bridge had a spongy, worn out feel.

There was a large Silverton cruising boat at the end of the dock we were on. It had been abandoned. Apparently, it has been on the dock for months. We were told a “homeless” population were living on derelict boats in the harbor.

We did learn that the Bass Fishing Tournament we saw participants in all weekend was based here. We arrived on Monday the 15th, the holiday. They must have provided some food for these participants because the choices for restaurants were slim. Corky Bell’s (where we spent a night) was several miles out of town.

The downtown had way too many empty storefronts, which was very sad because there were many beautiful, historic buildings along the Main Street. The large, creative murals painted on sides of buildings scattered around town showed some attempts at beautification. Sadly large historic homes that in other water front towns were glorious to view were dilapidated and overrun with “stuff” here.

We did a fair amount of walking about and found the entire area to be worn out and rundown. We did find a great Brew Pub with a talkative young fireman bartender where we sat outside giving Miss Coconut a chance to be admired. He told us of a few impending projects that were exciting to him. An Oyster bar was going into one of the empty, brick waterfront buildings along with shops and some office space. This building is a stunner so its an excellent start.

We learned from talking to more people and a bit of reading that the 2008 recession hit this area hard and like everywhere, the Covid pandemic has caused great loss. There up side is a development company is making a start.

Restoration of an old hotel and department store are happening within the next few months. Apparently this is sparking other growth. They are hoping to spur other businesses, adding jobs and growth. Apparently, repainting the old JC Penney Building was the first visible sign. Small steps. Very positive.

We did our share in helping the economy, a bit of shopping, a long overdue haircut and a few “to go” meals at the restaurants we did find. We had breakfast at their historic train-car diner, Angels—great pancakes, horrible coffee.

As we were leaving, a truck with Gentlemen wearing DOC clothing arrived to rectify the lawn cutting issue and do a bit of clean up. We wish the town well…