The Park That Almost Never Was: Biscayne National Park

National Park After Dark

Danielle LaRock & Cassandra Yahnian

True Crime, Places & Travel, History, Society & Culture

4.6 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The area that is now Biscayne National Park was once considered a wasteland and worthless - but the Jones family, newly freed from slavery, saw the value it had. They purchased three islands and created both a home and a lucrative business. When business tycoons finally realized the locations monetary worth, they fought hard to gain control of the land to develop high rises and oil refineries. Sir Lancelot Jones wasn’t willing to give up his land, and today remains a large reason of why Biscayne National Park exists.Come see us live in Joshua Tree National Park! Grab tickets here!For a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to this week’s partners!Ollie: Use NPAD to get 60% off your first box of meals when you subscribe today.Quince: Use our link to get free shipping and 365-day returns.Lume Deodorant: Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with@lumedeodorant and get 15% off with promo code NPAD at LumeDeodorant.com! #lumepodZocdoc: Use our link to download the Zocdoc app for free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Close your eyes and envision your favorite place in the world. Are you seeing the most beautiful
0:08.2	national park you've ever visited? Perhaps you're envisioning your family's lakehouse where
0:14.4	countless memories have been made, or a special bench sitting above the coast that makes you feel
0:20.7	like you're sitting on the edge of the world.
0:24.0	Maybe it's simply just your house, where you feel safe and comfortable.
0:30.1	Now imagine a corporation arriving, ready to buy the sacred place of yours, for sums of money that you can hardly comprehend.
0:40.0	It's difficult to imagine saying no to money that would change your entire life.
0:45.6	However, then you learn that with that money, they will destroy the land that you love so much.
0:53.0	Pollute it, decimate the buildings that stand on it,
0:56.9	and drive out every living creature that calls it home.
1:01.5	Would that money still be worth it?
1:04.4	Would that offer still be too good to pass up?
1:08.4	This is a predicament that the area of Florida's Biscay National Park found itself
1:14.3	in long before it was a preserved landscape. Conservationists, locals, and one family with a generation
1:22.3	of history of loving those coastal islands decided that land was worth far more than money could buy,
1:29.8	and they were willing to fight for it.
1:34.6	Welcome to National Park After Dark.
1:38.2	Music Well, hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark. I am Danielle. And I'm
2:03.3	Cassie. Happy Monday. Happy new episode of the week. We're so happy that you're all joining us.
2:08.8	If it is your first time, joining us, just a little rundown each week. Danielle and I pick a story
2:14.8	to tell, and one of us will tell the story to the other and this week
2:18.4	it's my turn. Yeah. And they are all by and large located within or adjacent to a national park or
	...

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