The Fernandina Pirates Club told city leaders they found human cremains in the nearly 50-year-old statue ahead of a possible move.
FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — A Fernandina Beach landmark could soon destined for Davey Jones locker – or at least a museum.
City leaders are considering a proposal to move Peg Leg Pete into the Amelia Island Museum and put a new pirate statue in his place.
The debate between preserving the old and introducing the new is inevitable when considering a replacement for an iconic fixture like Peg Leg Pete. However, the most intriguing aspect of this statue is the hidden treasure within it.
“I don’t really want to touch it,” said Edward Bouknight while walking his dog by the statue. “It might be cursed or something. Pirate cursed.”
Peg Leg Pete landed in downtown Fernandina Beach back in 1978 and has swashbuckled his way to his fair share of fans.
“I think they should preserve it right here and leave it right here for everyone to see,” said Jerry Rosenberg.
“Visitors love snapping photos with him, so I believe he should remain,” commented hotel employee Ron Daniels as he admired the statue during his break.
After standing watch for nearly 50 years, the leaders of Fernandina Beach are concerned that Peg Leg Pete might soon collapse, suggesting it might be appropriate to relocate him indoors.
“The options are to either have a new one, a different type of fixture, or simply nothing at all,” stated Arlene Filkoff, President of the Fernandina Beach Historic District Council, at a recent meeting discussing the statue’s fate.
The Fernandina Pirates Club says Peg Leg managed to collect a few treasures through the years.
The group’s president, Joe Brown, says there is a time capsule in the base.
However, they made a more disturbing discovery that’s enough to make you say “shiver me timbers.”
“I’ve been informed there are cremains inside,” mentioned Brown during the Historic District Council gathering. “They’re not in a time capsule, but within the statue itself. We always assumed they would stay with Pete, wherever he went.”
An attorney for the city says it may not be that simple.
“I am sufficiently informed to be cautious about the presence of ashes,” said City Attorney Teresa Prince in the meeting. “We’ve received credible information confirming their existence. We need to further investigate, verify this, and I need to determine the proper procedure for relocating them.”
The Fernandina Pirates Club commissioned Teenage Artist Jett Paxton, known as The Woodcarving Dude, to carve a new pirate statue if Peg Leg is moved to the Amelia Island Museum of History.
“It’s a local kid at 15 who carved it, local high school kids who painted it, local artist designed the sword,” said Paxton. “It’s everything Fernandina Beach stands for.”
Paxton will have to wait to see how the hidden bounty plays out.
“Remains in the statue? It seems possible,” Bouknight said. “Crazier things have happened.”
The historic council also had some issues with how the new statue would be mounted, so they tabled a decision while that gets ironed out.
Between that and the possible cremains, there are still some things to sort out before an X marks the spot for a new statue.
