American Beach

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Photo by Michael Kappel

Founded in 1935 by Florida’s first black millionaire and president of Afro-American Life Insurance Company, American Beach is a historic beach community that still welcomes visitors. Abraham Lincoln Lewis purchased land on Amelia Island’s Atlantic shores and developed an area where his company’s employees and their families could vacation and own homes. Numerous celebrities were hosted at this location. Desegregation of public venues by the Civil Rights Act shifted the beach’s popularity but did not lessen its historic significance. MaVynee Betsch, Lewis’s great-granddaughter and known to locals as the Beach Lady, began raising awareness for the declining beach area in 1977. Her efforts were rewarded in 2002 when the National Register of Historic Places added the site. Current onsite amenities include restrooms at Burney Park. For more information about wheelchair accessibility/beach wheelchair, please call 904-277-7350. For beach driving permits, please call 904-491-6430 or 904-310-6124.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on October 5th, 2022. The Swim Guide - Florida updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on October 11th, 2022 at 12:45 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) adopted new water quality criteria January 2016 for the Healthy Beaches program. They reflect the most current recommendations and water quality grant requirements in the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Nassau County beaches are monitored by the Florida Healthy Beaches Program. Monitoring results are collected bi-weekly in Nassau County, and monitoring season is from March to November. Swim Guide checks for the latest information daily, Monday - Friday during the peak swimming season.

The Florida Healthy Beaches Program Categories are:

Good = 0-35 Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water;
Moderate = 36-70 Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water, and;
Poor = 71 or greater Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water.

The 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria recommends using 70 CFU per 100 mL as the Beach Action Value (BAV) to guide public health advisories. A Single Sample Maximum (SSM) at 70 CFU per 100 ml and a BAV are functionally the same. If the sample result is above the indicated value, the beach is resampled and tested the following day or a beach advisory is issued with the first test result. The Healthy Beaches program no longer uses geometric means to represent recreational water quality data.

On Swim Guide a beach is marked Green when it has a Good or Moderate standing meaning the SSM test results show Enterococci counts between 0- 70 cfu (colony forming units) / 100ml.
Swim Guide marks a beach Red when it has a Poor standing. This means the SSM test results show Enterococci counts exceeds the BAV of 70 cfu/100ml. These conservative advisories better inform vulnerable people (children, elderly, and the immunocompromised) who have elevated health risks due to water quality at the beach.
A beach is marked Grey when no current or reliable monitoring information is available.

Please note: Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, also called flesh eating disease, is a naturally occurring bacteria in some of Florida's waters. This bacteria can be lethal, especially when contracted by individuals with compromised immune systems. Concentrations of the bacteria are higher in the mouths of rivers near oceans. The bacteria is most dangerous when ingested in raw seafood but recent deaths are attributed to individuals who have waded in water with broken skin. Beach goers are urged to use caution and consult a physician if you suspect you have come in contact with the bacteria.

Water Quality Graph