Teaspoon Heritage Festival Today

February 28, 2009

Organizers say the annual Teaspoon Festival will go on rain or shine today in Century.

The annual event includes artists, bands, musicians, dancers, entertainers and vendors from across the area. The day’s events will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the New Life Baptist Church, 700 Hecker Road.

A History of Teaspoon

by Jack Moran

Long before a sawmill was built in what is today called Century, there was a thriving trading community. That trading community was located at the juncture of the Little “Shambia” River and the much larger Conecuh River that flowed south toward Pensacola.

Records and maps in the Library of Congress show a Spanish Fort, trading post, and a corn plantation located just south of present day Century. Those features were there for over 100 years prior to the American Civil War and more than 150 years prior to the building of the famous Alger-Sullivan saw mill that named the town Century.

There was also a trading path that came up from Pensacola. Originally that path was on the border between the Upper and the Lower Muscogee Indian territories. Later the path became known as the Old Indian Path and then it became known as the Panton-Leslie Trading Path. Originally it led to the little trading settlement at the juncture of the little river and the big river, but later it was extended north of what is now Flomaton and called the Old Wolf Path. It led to Burnt Corn and the Three Notch Trail.

There was in those early days a flood-lake along side the big Conecuh River that was curiously shaped – like a teaspoon. This resulted in the settlement being named “Teaspoon”.

The tiny trading settlement was populated by mostly African’s and American Indians, most of whom had escaped slavery in the British Colonies in Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia; Spanish traders up from Pensacola, and French from Mobile, New Orleans, and Natchez. The main trading products were pine sap, pine pitch, tall masts, and various kinds of dried foods that were traded for metal utensils, beads, cloth, and salt.

The present day Teaspoon Heritage Festival celebrates the multi-cultural trading settlement that existed long before the Alger-Sullivan sawmill was built in the early 1900’s.

The Teaspoon Festival consists of artist, bands and musicians, dancers, various entertainers and vendors from all over the region. Each year the festival grows in attendance and participation. It is listed with the Florida Department of Tourism on their Visit Florida Web Pages, and on the internet web pages of the Arts Council of NW Florida. The Teaspoon Heritage Festival is rapidly becoming a major tourist industry attraction in Century bringing notoriety and tourism dollars to the local economy.

Comments

One Response to “Teaspoon Heritage Festival Today”

  1. Century Girl on February 28th, 2009 7:31 pm

    Just wanted to share that the Teaspoon Heritage Festival was wonderful! The bands that played were great-not to mention the artists, and other vendors. There were visitors from as far away as Gulf Breeze and Crestview. It is really nice having things like this in our community.

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