Lucy Tobias submits another excellent nominee for Florida's Special Places - this time from Fort Mose Historic State Park. Enjoy:

Florida's Special Places come in all sizes, shapes and sometimes arrive with surprises.

Here is one. Where is the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States?

Surprise - the answer lies two miles north of St. Augustine. In 1738 the settlement of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose was chartered by the Spanish governor of Florida.

Fort Mose for short became a home for slaves fleeing from English colonies in the Carolinas.

Today Fort Mose Historic State Park sits quietly, without fanfare, even though it has high honors - named a National Historic Landmark in 1994 and in 2009 the National Park Service named this spot a precursor site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

The town structures were swallowed up by time and tides. Marshlands, hardwoods and mixed forest areas have flourished, attracting birds including roseate spoonbills and migrating bald eagles. It comes as no surprise to find Fort Mose is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.

A short, straight boardwalk traverses salt marshes to an overlook. One informational sign really got my attention - Seeing Landscapes Through Different Eyes since 1565.

• The Spanish saw Florida as a hostile place to be tamed.
• The English were profit driven - they produced raw goods and agriculture and needed lots of slave labor.
• This resulted in the lure of freedom as slaves came to be free under the Spanish.
• Native Americans lived near water for food and trade. They defended the land, their villages, and their people.
• Many contemporary views want to safeguard these natural areas.
• Others want to see these wetlands turned into waterfront property.
• Biologists look to study disappearing species here.
• Archaeologists fear the stories of the past will be lost before they are even discovered.
• What is your viewpoint?

That question touched me. I hope it touches you too.

Our answers determine how we view Florida's Special Places. Are they extinct, as a DEP list of 53 parks proposed for closure would have done (including Fort Mose), a list since rescinded by Gov. Scott, or are they vital to our present and future?