Representatives from the Sisters of St. Joseph were on hand for the dedication at the
Verot House.
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Amelia Island recently celebrated the dedication of
two new historical markers

     One was installed at American Beach, the small town at the south end of Amelia Island. This area was the dream of A. L. Lewis, one of the founders of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. Lewis helped the Afro acquire this land in the 1930s so blacks could have access to the beach. For much of the 1940s and 50s, American Beach was the only beach open to blacks in all of Nassau and Duval counties. In its heyday, American Beach attracted visitors from all over the south.
     Another historical marker was dedicated at the Phelan-Verot House. This Victorian cottage at 116 N. 4th Street is commonly called the Nuns' House. It acquired this name because this was where the Sisters of St. Joseph lived while their convent was being built in the 1870s and early 1880s. This was also where the nuns treated the many victims of the yellow fever epidemic of 1877.