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A History of Columbia County Florida (1996) Edward F. Keuchel 206/340

A History of Columbia County, Florida

Florida, some paused long enough in Columbia County and ad­
jacent areas to visit local attractions. White Springs and Olustee
were favorite sites while Aunt Aggie’s Bone Yard in Lake City
emerged as one of the most unusual attractions of the area. During
the period 1900 until her death in 1918, “Aunt Aggie” Jones and
her house and garden offered attractions to visitors unmatched by
the more conventional tourist sites.
Aunt Aggie and her husband Jenkins “Uncle Jenks” Jones
established a home in a northern section of the city where Rich­
ardson High School was later built. Aunt Aggie was born into
slavery in South Georgia as the property of Elijah Mattox who
moved to Columbia County in 1844. Aunt Aggie’s father was either
a Creek or Seminole Indian. Her mother was a Negro slave. Aunt
Aggie was a household slave, and she continued to work for the
Mattox family after the Civil War and her freedom. After the war
she also worked for Mrs. James Wiley Cathey from whom she
purchased the “Bone Yard” property in 1883.32
The garden that Aunt Aggie maintained and which attracted
visitors from Lake City and distant areas alike was unique in its
collection of animal bones which were wired and fastened together
to form elaborate gateways, arches, and trellises for clinging
plants and vines. Flower beds, garden paths, and walk-ways of
white sand were edged with bone formations. The flowers included
various roses, gladiolus, amaryllis and other lilies, and violets.
Shrubs included oleander, hydrangea, crape myrtle, and wild
azaleas. Among the vines were honeysuckle, trumpet vines, wis­
teria, and ivy. Fruit trees included pear, peach, fig, plum, per­
simmon, and banana.33
The Bone Yard was most famous between 1900 and 1918. It
was a popular spot for young couples to walk and many families

32 May Vinzant Perkins, Aunt Aggie's Bone Yard (Lake City, n.d.), pp. 9-11.
33Ibid., pp. 3-5.

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