After reading the novel 'Don Juan McQueen' by Eugenia Price, I have become interested in learning more about this man and his landholdings in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area. While researching online, I discovered a rare book (The Letters of Don Juan McQueen to his Family 1791-1807) and in this book he mentions his numerous landholdings, such as Ortega, Ft. George Island, the Fernandina area, and a few others that are fairly well documented. Also, I found a website that states, "he built a grand mansion on his vast "Los Molinos de McQueen" estate on the south side of the St. John's River". Additionally, he owned another plantations called "San Pablo" in the Atlantic Beach area, and one that was started in the Ortega/Cowford area, and named after Spanish Governor Juan "Nepomuceno" de Quesada of St. Augustine. Then, I found an old map of Jacksonville and it showed an area called "Los Molinos", which today, is the vicinity of Craig Airport. On a different website it stated that the Queen's Harbour & Country Club area was once land owned by Don Juan McQueen. So, somewhere between those two areas, I believe, was McQueen's large plantation and sawmill known as, "Los Molinos de McQueen" (or McQueen's Mill). So, we know the general area, but does anyone know exactly the spot where this mansion would have been located? McQueen owned it until his death in 1807.
I can't vouch for its accuracy, but I also came across the information about Queen's Harbour (from their Garden Club, I believe). I'm hoping to find more information as well, as the Robert Maxey mentioned in the article below was one of my ancestors.
A HISTORY OF QUEEN'S HARBOUR
The Greenfield Peninsula , the site of today's Queen's Harbour Yacht and Country Club, has long been a prime area for settlement. The marshes around Queen's Harbour have supported abundant tidewater wildlife for thousands of years, and Native Americans harvested these resources as early as 3000 B.C. These ancient inhabitants left behind campsites that are marked archaeologically by marine shell middens along the banks of the peninsula today. A Spanish fort and Catholic mission were in existence on the property as early as 1703.
The British owned the peninsula in 1763 when the first plantation home was built by Robert Maxey at the northern end of the land grant. Spain regained Florida in 1783, and in 1804 Robert Maxey sold the property to Don Juan McQueen. Several owners later, Samuel Calvert acquired the site, and the entire peninsula became known as "Greenfield Plantation, that is all lands south of the St. Johns River, west of Pablo Creek and east of Greenfield Creek." A large working plantation was destroyed when burned by the Union troops.
In 1913 the Dawson family purchased Greenfield and rebuilt the plantation and fields, employing 130 men and women. Crops, herds of cattle, and hogs were raised, and a large oyster house was in operation on Greenfield Creek.
Today, these thousand acres are a secluded enclave called "Queen's Harbour. Queen's Harbour has a Mark McCumber-designed golf course, deepwater home sites as well as homes overlooking the tidal marshes of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway , and homes in woodland settings. A deep freshwater lagoon flows to the waterway via a lock system, allowing quick access to the river and nearby ocean.