International Border Town

Today, the St. Marys River is the border between Georgia and Florida, but during much of its history St. Marys was the southernmost community separating two nations. Georgians closely watched their neighbors to the south, and the fledgling nation stationed soldiers at nearby Point Peter, where they built a simple fort and watched across the river for threats. The border setting also allowed smugglers and pirates to use the tidal waterways to move back and forth in illegal activity, including slave smuggling. International tensions among the U.S., Britain, and France led the U.S. Congress to pass the Embargo Act of 1807, which devastated American shipping and agricultural markets, increased illegal trade, and undermined national unity before being repealed in 1809.

Yulee, Florida · United States