Friends of Chinsegut Hill, Inc

09/11/2018

Chinsegut Hill and the Carolina Parakeet
The first recorded settler of Chinsegut Hill, Colonel Bird Pearson, brought his family to the hill in the mid to late 1840s. His daughter, Floride Lydia, born 1843, spent her early childhood at Chinsegut; the family moved to Jacksonville when she was nine. Many years later, at the age of 82, she came back to visit her old childhood home. The local newspaper, the Brooksville Herald, gave an account of her visit in 1926.
“On Saturday morning, March 21, Mrs. W.P. Fleming, widow of the former governor of FL, made a visit to Chinsegut Hill. Mrs. Fleming is the daughter of Colonel Byrd M. Pearson, who found and settled Chinsegut Hill in 1843.” The article goes on to say that Floride Lydia remembered the sugar mill near Lake Lindsey and the long avenues of seedling orange trees extending out in all directions from the house on the hilltop. But most interesting, she talked of the flocks of parakeets which inhabited the woods. When they flew over the house, she said it reminded her of a great pink cloud sailing through the sky.
A recent visitor to the manor house said he thought she must be referring to the now extinct “Carolina Parakeet”. The Carolina Parakeet was the only parrot native to the U.S. and lived in old growth forests. They traveled in large noisy flocks of 200-300 birds and ate seeds of forest trees and shrubs, and also fruits which in later years included apple, grapes and figs which were cultivated by early settlers. The parrot also liked to eat the seeds of cockleburs which contain a toxic substance but didn’t appear to affect the birds.
Sadly, the last known wild Carolina parakeet died in Okeechobee County in 1904 and the last captive bird died in 1918. There were several things that may have led to its eventual demise: deforestation, hunting (for feathers and to reduce crop losses), the introduction of European honey bees which competed for nest sites with the Carolina parakeet and possibly domestic poultry diseases.

09/05/2018

Chinsegut Hill Retreat welcomes our friends from the Tampa - St. Pete area for lunch on September 12th. Reservations are required. To make reservations, email: [email protected].

08/31/2018

08/25/2018

Thank you to the Hernando High School Class of 1978 for trusting us with your outdoor event needs. Also what a great place to have it Chinsegut Hill Retreat. Go Leopards!!!!
Call us today for all of your outdoor event needs we gotcha covered for your reunions, weddings, festivals, business events, and anything else where you need to be covered.
352-428-9636

08/20/2018

Letters of the Robins family, the last private owners, describing Chinsegut Hill in the Summer (presented at our luncheon last Wed.)

June 30, 1905
Margaret Drier Robins first visit to Chinsegut in a letter to Sister-in-law Elizabeth Robins:
“To me it is the most beautiful place in the world, but you must see it for yourself, and when you do, and stand on the top of the hill and see those great live oaks massive in their strength, and the tall strong pines and here and there the pink crepe myrtle. I am sure you will agree with us that the poetry and mystery of all the ages has been caught and held on the crown of our hill and in the heart of the forest.

June 14, 1914
Raymond Robins writing to sister, Elizabeth:
“In the haste of getting Fielding off to town yesterday, I did not enclose the rose leaves in my letter to you. I am sending them in this and also a bit of Kumquat bloom. This latter is so sweet and it blooms in the Junetime when the other citrus trees are bare of flowers. It seems to speak of bridal wreathes and far off yesterdays when we were young.” Later in the same letter, “It is 84 degrees here in the workroom as I write and a fresh cool breeze sweeps through. A mocking bird sings in the plum bush to the north. A low hum of locust and insect life floats in from the quiet shimmering outer world.”

And August 6, 1914, Raymond Robins writing to Elizabeth on her birthday:
The weather is better than I have ever known at any of the resorts where I have visited -- which as you know is not many. It is incomparably cooler than Louisville, Chicago or New York. .. Of course the Hill-top is the secret of the cool breezes and the wonderful rest of the landscape. And quite possible the joy of a lad of the long ago who lives in the man your brother helps to make Chinsegut –the –Blessed my choice against the world.

08/09/2018

Come sit a spell on the porch after enjoying a great lunch at Chinsegut Hill. The cicadas are chirping and the breeze is gently blowing.
Wednesday August 15, 2018, 11 am and 12:30 pm lunch seatings. Call 352-799-5400 for reservations.

08/06/2018

A little more history about the food at our upcoming Luncheon: Barbecue and Where Did It Originate:

The history of American barbecue is as diverse as the variations themselves, charting the path of a Caribbean cooking style brought north by Spanish conquistadors, moved westward by settlers, and seasoned with the flavors of European cultures.

The first indigenous tribes Christopher Columbus encountered on the island he named Hispaniola had developed a unique method for cooking meat over an indirect flame, created using green wood to keep the food (and wood) from burning. Reports indicate that the Spanish referred to this new style of cooking as barbacoa: the original barbecue. As the Spanish explorers who followed Columbus turned their expeditions north, they brought the cooking technique with them. In 1540, close to present-day Tupelo, Mississippi, the Chicksaw tribe, in the presence of explorer Hernando de Soto, cooked a feast of pork over the barbacoa. Eventually, the technique made its way to the colonies, traveling as far north as Virginia.

Read more:

How America's meaty tradition grew from Caribbean roots to the four distinct styles we know today

08/01/2018

One of the items on our upcoming Luncheon menu is Salt Potatoes. Here is a little history about the dish.
From Wikipedia:"The Syracuse, New York, area has a long history of salt production. Salt springs located around Onondaga Lake were used to create consumable salt that was distributed throughout the northeast via the Erie Canal. Salinated brine was laid out to dry on large trays. The salt residue was then scraped up, ground, and packaged.
Salt potatoes originated in Syracuse and once comprised the bulk of a salt worker's daily diet. During the 1800s, Irish salt miners would bring a bag of small, unpeeled, substandard potatoes to work each day. Come lunch time, they boiled the potatoes in the "free-flowing" salt brine."
In the September issue of Cook’s Country magazine, Diane Unger explains why a copious amount of salt is essential to the dish. Because extra-salty water boils at a higher temperature, the starch in the potatoes cooks more completely. That’s why salt potatoes are so creamy. And the salty skin that forms on the outside of the potatoes stands up particularly well to herbed or even plain melted butter.

Sounds yummy!

05/09/2018

Now that the hot weather is here.. Come sit in the AC and listen to an interesting part of Chinsegut Hill History.

Raymond Robins, the last private owner of the Chinsegut Hill house and property, traveled around the world and one of his stops was in Russia. Come find out what his adventures were there!

MAY 16, 2018 AT 1PM
CHINSEGUT HILL MANOR HOUSE
LECTURE BY
COLONEL RICK LESTER
TOPIC: COLONEL RAYMOND ROBINS AND TE\HE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

COME AND JOIN US.

11/28/2017

Come join us Saturday!