Felipa, the Witch of Fernandina Beach, Florida
Felipa the Witch is one of the most intriguing characters that I found while doing research for my latest book.
She arose like a rumor from the documents, just a whisp of history hinting at something stranger and more fascinating, substantial enough to assure us she was there, but vague enough to madden imagination with curiosity.
An openly practicing witch in early-1800s Florida? Strange as it sounds, it’s true.
Felipa’s name first popped out at me as I dug through digital archival records from the Amelia Island Musuem of History. There it was, listed among dozens of other, normal names in logs from a May 10, 1811, rezoning of Fernandina: Felipa the Witch.
From what I could gather, Felipa was a freed black woman that owned multiple lots on Ladies Street, old Fernandina’s area for ladies of the night (it no longer serves that function — far as anyone knows, anyway). It would have made an auspicious location for Felipa, as one of her rumored talents was the formulation of love potions.
One can imagine that, perhaps, Felipa and her “love” drugs preceded the character of Ladies Street as a whole. Perhaps it became the unofficially designated location for prostitution because of Felipa’s charms, rather than Felipa gravitating there because the business was good.
