By Kate Kimmel
Downtown District Manager Lisa Finkelstein outlined three options for the future of the Peg Leg Pete statue at Tuesday’s Fernandina Beach City Commission meeting.
The iconic statue was moved from its longtime spot at the train depot to the Amelia Island Museum of History on Oct. 7 after Pirates Club members raised concerns about its deterioration. Since then, city officials have sought estimates for restoring the piece, which was the first option presented.
“I brought this to the commission because I didn’t want Peg Leg Pete to just sit for another year or two as he rots away,” Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue said.
The city received four quotes ranging from $23,000 to $35,000. Restoration, however, could cause irreparable damage depending on the statue’s internal condition, Finklestein said.
The second and third options involved donating Peg Leg Pete to the museum permanently and replacing it with another pirate statue downtown. Under the second option, the city would commission a replica, estimated at $3,000 to $15,000.
The third option would replace Pete with a statue commissioned by Pirates Club members in 2023 and sculpted by local artist Jett Paxton. Pirates Club member Marian Phillips suggested holding a contest for local students to name the new statue.
Pirates Club President Joe Brown and Phillips supported the third plan but said restoration should move forward if feasible.
“In the meantime, the new pirate is made, it could go in the old Peg Leg Pete location,” Brown said. “We could put Peg Leg Pete in his original location if he were to be restored. Fernandina is big enough for both pirates.”
Mayor James Antun and Ayscue voiced support for pursuing restoration. Antun suggested the city consider a fundraiser to cover the cost.
“That could be a productive way of trying to accommodate this without going into unbudgeted dollars,” Antun said.
Commissioners Genece Minshew and Joyce Tuten favored the third plan, saying it would avoid restoration risks, require no city funding and encourage community participation.
“Getting the Pirates Club and the community more involved and engaged in the restoration and/or replacement is a great idea and what I’d want to see pursued,” Minshew said.
If Peg Leg Pete can be restored, Finkelstein presented several possible locations for its return, including the train depot pedestal, the marina, a downtown landscape bed and Pirates Playground at the recreation center.
The commission did not take a vote, but organizing a fundraiser for restoration and placing the Pirates Club’s commissioned statue downtown appear to be the next steps.
kkimmel@nassaunewsline.net
This issue with Peg Leg Pete reminds me of another time the City of Fernandina Beach neglected an iconic part of Fernandina history. There was a log cabin at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and 11th Street, where the Veteran’s Park is located. The fireplace there is the only part of it that remains. The building was owned by the city, and a veterans organization was allowed to use the place for meetings and social gatherings. Eventually when it was discovered that termites had eaten it beyond repair, it was torn down. It was a tragic loss of a cool historic structure that with a bit of maintenance and a termite bond, could still be there today. If the city or any government will not maintain what they own, they should get out of the ownership business.