The Princess Place Preserve is located In Flagler County at the confluence of Pellicer Creek and the Matanzas River. The preserve, open to the public, is part of the award-winning Coastal Greeway and Preservation 2000 projects of Flagler County, extending from the Pellicer Creek Aquatic Preserve on the north, to Bulow Creek and the Tomoka Marsh Aquatic Preserve on the south.

Originally named Cherokee Grove, the land now known as the Princess Place Preserve was part of Francisco Pellicer's land grant from the King of Spain in 1791. H.C. Sloggett planted one of Florida's first orange groves on the land In the early 1800's. In 1887, New York architect, William Wright was hired by the new land owner, Henry Cutting, to design and build a hunting lodge. The architecture, unique to Florida, was reminiscent of the upstate New York, Adirondack Mountain camp style. Pink coquina, mined from Flagler beaches, was the material used to build the lodge. The property had the first in-ground swimming pool in Florida. The lodge served as an entertainment center for prominent families and royalty visiting from all parts of the world. Some time after Henry Cutting's death, his widow. Angela, remarried an exiled Russian Prince, Boris Sherbatoff, and the couple lived at Cherokee Grove. Later, the grove would be called the Princess Place. In 1954, the lodge and surrounding property was sold to Lewis and Angela Wadsworth. The couple added on a permanent caretaker's estate in 1973, and an estate to the south on a natural island surrounded by salt marsh and creeks in 1976.

Upon the death of Lewis Wadsworth, the estate offered the land for state acquisition. Although the state was in negotiation for the land, the Kittredges meanwhile purchased the property and continued negotiations with the state until the land was pubIicly acquired. The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners in 1993, using county land acquisition funds and $1 million from Florida's Preservation 2000 grants, purchased 453 acres of the land now known as the Princess Place Preserve. The preserve was officially dedicated in August 1994 by Governor Chiles.

Today, the Princess Place Preserve houses a classroom where two teachers, Frances Royals and Libby Kuleski,teach Ecology and English to 20 students each day. Proposed learning projects include: inventory of natural resources, soil studies, development of water quality databases from surrounding estuaries and mapping ecosystems within the preserve. The Princess Place Preserve is an area where history, nature and education meet. The preserve is a stellar example of hard work and dedication towards a common goal: to create a place where the community, tourists, and those interested in preserving natural resources can go for enjoyment and educational purposes.

Since 1993, Flagler County has applied for and received additional grants for additional land acquisition and for natural resource planning, work involving the mapping of ecosystems, elevations. scenic elements and designing trails that fit the true lay of the land. The preserve funded the studies and planning with a $50.000 Federal Coastal Zone Grant, and the county is now applying for another $50,000 grant from the agency to continue what is described as Phase II of the work. After 5 separate land acquisitions, August 1993 through June 1997, the preserve now consists of 1,508 acres.