About this project

Porchlight Archive · Fernandina Beach, Florida

My family has lived in Nassau County for five generations. We are shrimpers, river people, Fernandina people — tied to the Amelia River and the tidal marshes that have shaped this place for as long as anyone can remember. These are stories I grew up hearing at kitchen tables and on front porches, and I realized one day that I had never actually recorded them.

This project is an attempt to fix that. Starting in the summer of 2025, I sat down with my mother, my great aunt, my uncle, and my aunt and asked them to tell me what they remembered — about growing up here, about the shrimping life, about what Fernandina Beach used to be and what it has become. What I got back was more than I expected.

On the recordings: These are informal conversations, not produced audio. Nothing has been edited for content or tidied up for grammar. The voices are what they are, and that is the point.

On the photographs: Most photos were taken at or around the time of the interviews. Some are older family photographs shared during our conversations. Dates and contexts are noted where known.

This archive is primarily a family project, but Fernandina Beach's history belongs to more than one family. If you have a connection to these stories or want to share your own, you can reach me at rebecca@porchlightarchive.org.

— Rebecca Lawhorne, fifth generation Nassau County resident