With river swamps and high pinelands, extensive ravines and high bluffs along the river, the park has one of the most variable terrains of any in Florida. The high elevation of the park is about 300 feet at the top of Logan Hill. Many streams run through the park
History
Prior Native American inhabitation has been confirmed by archaeological discoveries in the area. In 1818, General Andrew Jackson and his army crossed the Apalachicola here during the First Seminole War. Ten years later, the first government road to cross the new Territory met the river here. Due to the river's importance during the Civil War, a six-cannon battery was placed on a bluff to prevent the passage of Union gunboats. These cannons never saw combat action at this location. The gun pits' remains can still be seen in the park.
Gregory House
In 1849, Jason Gregory built a plantation house at Ocheesee Landing, across from the park's current location. After the Civil War, like most plantations, it fell into disuse. Not long after the Civilian Conservation Corps was established in 1933, they started work to create the park. Part of the project in 1935 was disassembling the old Gregory House, moving it across the river and reconstructing in the park, where it stands today. Visitors can tour the Gregory House for a small fee.
Natural history
Flora
The park is one of the few places in the country where the endangered species Few-flowered croomia can still be found. Other endangered species in the park include the feathery false lily of the valley, Canadian honewort, and bloodroot. The varieties of hardwood trees include Southern live oak, White oak, Water hickory, Southern wax myrtle, Sourwood, American beech, Tulip tree, Florida maple, and Sweetgum. Species of softwood trees include the variety of both Needle palm and Dwarf palmetto, Loblolly pine, Longleaf pine, and Redbay. The endemic Florida Nutmeg trees are restricted to the limestone bluffs and their ravines within Torreya State Park, along the east bank of the Apalachicola River in northern Florida and southern Georgia. It was one of the first federally listed in 1984. It is a Critically endangered species on the IUCN Red List, due to estimated 98% decline in mature individuals within the last three generations. Its total extent of occurrence is estimated to be about only. The Apalachicola valley served as a refugium for T. taxifola during the last ice age, when its range shrank due to cooler temperatures.
