Snow flurries continued through much of the night in Two Egg, Florida. This video was shot by www.twoegg.tv at around 3 a.m. on January 23, 2016.

Giant footprint (just left of my shoe)

The Two Egg Stump Jumper, a mysterious cryptid that roams the woods and swamps between Two Egg and Lake Seminole is #92 on our list of 100 Great Things about Jackson County, Florida!

Usually seen at night as it runs across dirt road through the headlights of oncoming cars, the Two Egg Stump Jumper is said to be an upright creature that is covered with a long growth of white or gray hair. Not as big as a traditional Bigfoot or Sasquatch, it favors the swamps and bayous around the Parramore area of the county.

Giant footprint (my shoe used to show scale)

In fact, the Stump Jumper has made a new appearance!

A check of an area near Circle Hill Baptist Church where sightings often take place turned up an array of fresh tracks, broken tree trunks and other signs that a large creature had been active in the area. A trail of fresh tracks was found passing through a boggy slough, while others were found in a recently cleared area nearby.

So far as is known, no one has ever photographed the Two Egg Stump Jumper. Sightings usually take place so fast and the eyewitnesses are so stunned that they do not have time to react and reach for a camera or camera phone.

Here are a couple more photos from its latest appearance. Read about other sightings at www.twoeggfla.com.

Broken tree trunk in area where tracks were found

Trail of giant tracks through swampy area.

Parramore Landing Park east of Two Egg

Florida's famed Two Egg Stump Jumper has returned after a two year silence!

The legendary monster has been reported for many decades in the woods and swamps a few miles east of the quaint little community of Two Egg, Florida. It is said to be a "mini-Bigfoot" type creature that frequents swampy areas around the historic ghost town of Old Parramore.

One of the new incidents is particularly unique because it involved six eyewitnesses at one time. None of them actually saw the creature, but they heard something large shadowing them as they returned to Parramore Landing Park after dark from a hike into the swamps. The noise was accompanied by a loud "growl" or "roar" that they all heard multiple times, a sound that was different from anything they had ever heard in the area.

Other eyewitnesses have confirmed the strange sounds coming from the swamps around Parramore Landing Park.

Yet another eyewitness actually saw the creature as it ran through the headlights of her car a short distance west of Circle Hill Baptist Church on Circle Hill Road. The sighting took place a few miles northwest of Parramore Landing.

To read the full story on the new sightings, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/monster4.

Just a reminder that the 2012 production of "A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida: The Play" will take place TODAY (Sunday, December 23rd) at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The play is being produced at the Lovedale Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 6595 Lovedale Rd, Bascom, FL  (See below for a map).

The performances are free to attend, although donations will gladly be accepted!

"A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida" is based on my book of the same name and tells the story of a lonely man named Ben who feels that he has lost everything of value in his life. It is set in Two Egg on a Christmas Eve night and features a narration and scenes sure to touch the heart. The play journeys back in time to explore Ben's life story, with a stop along the way at the Bevis Store for a rolicking presentation of real Two Egg actors discussing how their community got its unique name!

Please come!


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The Cast of "A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida" during rehearsal

The second annual presentation of the play "A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida" will take place this Sunday (December 23rd) at the Lovedale Baptist Church fellowship hall near lovely, downtown Two Egg!

Performances are scheduled for 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and are absolutely free to attend (although donations are much appreciated). Please join in the fun!

The play is based on my short novel, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, which tells the story of an angry man named Ben, a mysterious Christmas visitor, a forgotten snowfall, Confederate gold and a remarkable Christmas celebration. It is set, of course, in the Two Egg area of Jackson County, Florida.

The Entrance Foyer is Ready!

What makes this annual performance really unique is that all of the actors and actresses are residents of the Two Egg area. The lead role of "old Ben" is being portrayed this year by Arthur Basford while his wife, Mary, will be portrayed for the second consecutive year by Lois Layton.

The list of other key actors include Russell Register, Dr. Steve Canada, Duane Davis, Norman Davis, Ted Bruner, Alfred Cox and others.  Music will be provided by a trio from Lovedale Baptist Church led by Dianne Tipton.

I will be narrating once again this year and a favorite scene of a number of real long-time Two Egg residents sitting around the "Bevis Store" carrying on an unscripted debate about how the community got its name will be back!

Please come out and join us for this growing annual event! And if you haven't read the book, there is still time to order it for Christmas: 

Overflow Crowd for First Performance

So many people turned out for Sunday's first ever performance of "A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida - The Play" that the cast staged a second impromptu performance.

Based on my short novel of the same name, the play's cast featured residents from around the Two Egg area of Jackson County. Some of them even portrayed their own ancestors.

Ben's Redemption - A Scene from "A Christmas in Two Egg"

A Christian novel centered around a Christmas Eve night in Two Egg, the book and play tell the story of the redemption of a man named Ben. Angry and depressed, he finds himself alone at Christmas and disturbed by noises from his barn. As the story unfolds, it includes glimpses into the real history of Two Egg. In both the book and play, a group of local men sitting around the historic Bevis Store in Two Egg share stories of how the community got its unusual name.

The play was staged for the first time on Sunday, December 18th, at the Lovedale Baptist Church Fellowship Hall near Two Egg and the audience was at capacity nearly thirty minutes before opening time. Dozens more visited a temporary "Museum of Two Egg History" and enjoyed refreshments while they waited for a quickly promised second performance.

"Gabriel" (left) discusses his role with the author.

The cast acted out scenes from the book, all linked together by readings and story tellings. The Lovedale Baptist Church Men's Ensemble and Children & Youth Ensemble provided the opening music while the choir, with soloist Helen Davis, played the host of angels that appear unexpectedly over Two Egg at the plays climactic moment.

The church is considering making the play an annual part of Christmas in Jackson County.

If you haven't read the book and would like to, it is available through Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna (same block as the Gazebo restaurant) or online for delivery by Christmas through Amazon:   A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida

It is also available as an instant download for your Kindle reading device or free Kindle software (available through Amazon):  A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida (Kindle)

Lovedale Baptist Church near Two Egg will present the stage version of my short novel, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, on Sunday, December 18th at 6 p.m.
There is no charge to attend, but all donations will go to support the youth of the church in their upcoming activities. If you make a donation of at least $10, you can receive a free copy of the book and I will be there and will be happy to sign and inscribe it for you if you like.

This will be a unique opportunity to travel back in time to the days when Two Egg got its name and experience a nostalgic look at life in the community during the difficult days of the Great Depression. The entire cast is from the Two Egg area and one fascinating scene brings together a group of men who will tell their own stories of how the community was named.

The play and book tell the story of an elderly man named Ben who has, through misfortune not of his own making, been left along and bitter on a Christmas Eve night. He hears noises in his barn and goes to investigate. What he finds changes not only his own life, but the life of every man, woman and child in Two Egg.

The story is fiction, drawn completely from the mind, but the place and many of the people are real. The stories of how the community by its name will be told completely unscripted by the men exactly as they have heard them all of their lives.

The audience will be able to interact with cast members after the play and there will also be an exhibit of antiques, tools, photographs and other items of interest from the Two Egg area.

Please come out for this wonderful opportunity to get to know many of the people of the Two Egg area and to experience a Christmas story that I think you will enjoy and cherish!

If you are interested in reading the book, it is available at Chipola River Book and Tea on Lafayette Street in Downtown Marianna (in the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant), or you can order it online from Amazon at www.twoeggfla.com/books.

Lovedale Baptist Church is located at 6595 Lovedale Road (Bascom, Florida). To reach the church from State Road 69 at Two Egg, travel north on CR-69A (Wintergreen Road) for 2 miles then turn right on Lovedale Road and travel 1.9 miles. The church will be on your right.

Learn more about Two Egg anytime at www.twoeggfla.com!

Battle of Marianna Monument

If you are looking for a unique Christmas gift that captures the flavor of Jackson County's rich and colorful past, please consider one or more of my books on this beautiful place that so many of us call home.  Here is a list of the volumes currently available. 
All of them are also available as instant downloads for your Amazon Kindle reading devise and the Battle of Marianna book can also be found at iBooks for your iPad, Nook, etc.

Also be sure to watch in coming days for the release of my latest volume, The Claude Neal Lynching: The 1935 Murders of Claude Neal and Lola Cannady.

All of the following are available at Chipola River Book & Tea on Lafayette Street in Downtown Marianna (right across the street from the Battle of Marianna Monument), or you can click the link to order through Amazon online:

A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida
My first work of fiction, this is a short Christmas story set in the quaint Two Egg community of Jackson County.  Please click here to order.

Two Egg, Florida: A Collection of Ghost Stories, Legends & Unusual Facts
Learn the story of Two Egg plus a number of other Northwest Florida legends, including the Ghost of Bellamy Bridge, the Washington County Volcano, the Garden of Eden, Two-Toed Tom and more! Please click here to order.

The Battle of Marianna, Florida (Expanded Edition)
A detailed account of the September 27, 1864, battle in the streets of Marianna that marked the high point of the deepest Federal raid into Florida during the entire Civil War.  Contains detailed troop lists and casualty information.  Please click here to order.

The History of Jackson County, Florida: The Early Years (Volume One)
The most detailed account ever written of the early history of Jackson County, including details on Indian villages, Spanish missions, Seminole War battles, early settlement, the "lost county," crime and more!  Please click here to order.

The History of Jackson County, Florida: The War Between the States (Volume Two, The Civil War Years)
The most detailed account ever written of the Civil War years in Jackson County, including the Battle of Marianna, the Battle of Forks of the Creek, the Battle of Port Jackson, deserter raids, troop rosters, genealogical information, Governor John Milton and more. Please click here to order.

Old Parramore: The History of a Florida Ghost Town
The fascinating history of Old Parramore, a ghost town located near the Chattahoochee River in Jackson County, Florida. Learn the history of the rich steamboat era when paddlewheel riverboats were the most important mode of transportation for the area.  Please click here to order.

The "Stump Jumper," the mysterious Two Egg - Parramore Monster, has been sighted again in its traditional haunts about one mile north of Parramore crossroads and 7 miles northeast of Two Egg.

The creature has been seen in the same vicinity off and on for at least thirty years and, as yet, no one has been able to come up with a reasonable identity for it. The latest sighting is is a bit different, however, in that it left some actual evidence of the monster.

An investigation in the vicinity following a sighting of the monster during the first week of June revealed a trail of unusual footprints leading from the swampy area where it was spotted by the eyewitness across a plowed fire lane and into an overgrown area of planted pines. Curiously, the tracks appear to have only three toes, one large or "big" toe and two smaller ones.

The Two Egg - Parramore Monster is usually described as a hairy "mini-Bigfoot" like creature that stands upright, is brown or gray in color and runs with remarkable speed. It is usually said to be around 5 or 6 feet tall. At least one eyewitness described it as having a long "raccoon-like" tail, while others - including the latest person to see it - have not noticed a tail.

To see photos of the footprints from the new sighting and to learn more about the monster, please visit www.twoeggfla.com/monster2.

Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna will be hosting a book signing on Saturday to celebrate the release of my new book, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida.

The event will run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. (or until the book supply runs out), so if you would like an autographed copy to use as a gift for Christmas, come on down! Copies of my other books will also be available and I'll be glad to specially inscribe them as gifts.

The new book is my first short novel and tells the story of a lonely man named Ben and a Christmas Eve night that forever changes the life of the people of Two Egg. While the story is entirely from my imagination, it does include elements of local history that will be of interest, including some of the stories of how Two Egg got its unusual name. The book is Christian in nature and is the kind of story you can be comfortable reading out loud with your family for many Christmas holidays to come.

The book is specially priced at $9.95 because I know these are hard times for many people and I wanted to make it affordable. It is currently in stock at Chipola Book & Tea, which is located on the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant and has entrances on both Lafayette and Market Streets.  It is also available through Amazon.com with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.


If you are interested in some of my other books, here are links to order them through Amazon.com:

Autographed copies of my new short novel, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, are now in stock at Chipola River Book & Tea in Downtown Marianna.

The book tells the story of a lonely man named Ben, the mysterious stranger he has seen lurking around his barn, and what happens to the people of Two Egg on a magical Christmas Eve long ago. My first work of fiction, it is set in our favorite local community of Two Egg during the days of the Great Depression. The story is Christian and is suitable for sitting and reading out loud with the family this Christmas. It is priced at $9.95.

The book is also available in both print and Kindle versions through Amazon.com (just follow the link at the top of this posting).

I will be available to personally write greetings in books at Book & Tea on Saturday, December 18th from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. They are located in Downtown Marianna on the same block as the Gazebo Restaurant, directly across Lafayette Street from the Battle of Marianna Monument, and also carry a full selection of signed copies of my other books.

My new short novel - A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida - is now available in paperback through Amazon.com.

My first venture into nonfiction writing, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida began as a script for a church play and grew into a small book. It tells the story of a man named Ben who finds himself along and forgotten in Two Egg on a Christmas Eve night back in the days of the Great Depression - or at least, so he thinks.

As a rare Florida snow falls, Ben encounters a mysterious man he has seen lurking around his barn for several nights and his world is changed in an instant.

The book is a short Christian novel and I hope you enjoy it. It is available now for immediate delivery through Amazon.com by following the link at the upper left of this posting. It should be available at Chipola River Book & Tea in downtown Marianna by next weekend, for as long as supplies last.

I will be doing a signing at Book & Tea on Saturday, December 18th, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., so if you order now feel free to bring your copy on by and I'll be glad to sign it for you. I'll also be glad to do custom inscriptions in books you would like to give as Christmas gifts. Chipola River Book & Tea is located on Lafayette Street in downtown Marianna, right across from the Battle of Marianna Monument, and is the official local outlet for all of my books.

Best,
Dale Cox

I'm pleased to announce that my new short novel, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, is now available in a hardcover collector's edition! The hardcover edition is only available for order online.

The paperback edition will be released locally at a special signing event on December 18th at Chipola River Book & Tea in downtown Marianna. I will be on hand to sign books from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.

My first venture into writing fiction, A Christmas in Two Egg, Florida, is a short novel about a man named Ben and his life in Jackson County during the difficult days of the Great Depression. Made hard and angry by tragic events that have destroyed his family, Ben finds himself troubled on a Christmas Eve night by a mysterious stranger that has been lurking around his barn.

What follows is a story of a man facing his own life and his own fears and the remarkable gift he not only receives, but gives as well. The hardcover edition is available online at:

http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/a-christmas-in-two-egg-florida/14007061

Writing fiction is a big change for me, but I hope you enjoy it!

Dale Cox

The quaint little Jackson County community of Two Egg has once again received the kind of publicity that many larger cities would love to have!

Two Egg, Florida was among the places listed today on Bing.com's list of "Funny Place Names." Please click here to read the brief article.

Among the other locations included in the interactive online article were Toad Suck, Arkansas; Cuckoo, Virginia; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; Boring, Oregon and quite a few others. Bing is a major search engine and thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity to search for more information on Two Egg. Many of them spent time browsing local website www.twoeggfla.com today to learn more about the community.

Two Egg, of course, is no stranger to publicity. On Easter of this year it was featured in a live report on television in Sacramento, California's capital city, and over the years the crossroads has attracted the attention of television shows including Jeapordy, magazines including National Geographic and Life and numerous radio programs.

You can always learn more about Two Egg in the book, Two Egg, Florida, available for order at the top left of this posting, or at www.twoeggfla.com.

Of the more than 2,244 properties with reported pollution in Florida, only one of them could result in the destruction of a historic landmark as treasured as the old Pittman store in downtown Two Egg, Florida.

For generations, visitors and residents alike have treasured the picturesque central crossroads of the unique and charming community. Untold hundreds of people have posed in front of Two Egg's two historic store structures and the downtown view has been featured in publications including Life magazine and National Geographic, on television around the world and in the book Two Egg, Florida. But now, as a result of the enforcement of a state law by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in a way that showed total disregard for the historical integrity of one of Florida's most treasured landscapes, Two Egg has been forever changed.

Please click here to read the full story and see "Then and Now" photographs of downtown Two Egg, Florida.

 I had an enjoyable interview this morning with the nice folks of the Good Day Sacramento show on KMAX-TV, the CBS owned and operated CW network station in Sacramento, California.

They were interested in sharing the story of Two Egg with their viewers for a bit of fun on their Easter Morning show. So, they went from talking about hunting for eggs to how Two Egg got got its name. We talked about one of the stories behind the naming of the unique and special little community, as well as some other features of interest in Two Egg and Jackson County, including the Bellamy Bridge ghost legend.

If you would like to see the interview, you can watch it here:



It was a fun way to spend a few minutes talking about our great area and promoting Jackson County to the viewers in Sacramento, which is not only California's capitol city, but also a significant metropolitan area with an area population of more than 2,000,000 people!

 There has already been a nice surge of visits to the Two Egg website at http://www.twoeggfla.com/, so hopefully more people are taking the time to learn about Two Egg and enjoy information about Jackson County and the surrounding area.

Thanks again to the Good Day Sacramento folks for seeking us out!

As snow flurries spread across Jackson County this afternoon, the Two Egg area received its first snowfall in a decade.

Heavy snow began falling in the Two Egg area at around 3:30 p.m. and continued for more than an hour. In places the snow came heavy enough to create a light dusting on grass, trees and plants. The community had been under a Winter Weather Advisory all day. Please click here to see more.

The snow that reached Jackson County marked the southern edge of a large winter storm that is expected to continue moving across the South for the next couple of days. Areas of Alabama, including Mobile, reported snowfall of more than 5 inches and major traffic delays were reported across that state. Heavy snow was also reported south of the Alabama line west of Jackson County in the Florida Panhandle.

Students at Baptist Bible College in Graceville reported heavy snow falling there shortly before 3 p.m. and students at Chipola College in Marianna reported the same about 15 minutes later.

To see more photos of the Two Egg snow, please visit www.twoeggfla.com/snow2010.

In continuing the expansion of my http://www.twoeggfla.com/ website, I've added a new page on the man I like to call the "Pirate of Two Egg."

William Augustus Bowles was probably one of the most fascinating individuals ever to walk the soil of Jackson County. Born in Maryland to a Loyalist family in the years before the American Revolution, he served in the British military when he was still just a young teenager. He was sent to Pensacola, where he quickly ran afoul of his superior officers and found himself cast out the service with no means of support, a long way from home.

Wandering into the wilderness, he became lost and was on the verge of starvation when he was rescued by a party of Indian warriors from the village of Tellmochesses which stood about 7 miles east of Two Egg. This was one of the Perryman Towns, so named because they were headed by various members of the Perryman family. William Perryman, the chief of Tellmochesses, was a grandson of the English trader Theophilus Perryman. Like other members of the family, he could speak English and was a prosperous and educated man. He took Bowles across the Chattahoochee River to meet his father, Thomas Perryman, the head of the clan and a prominent leader among the Lower Creek and Seminole Indians.

The Perryman family adopted William Bowles and he married William Perryman's oldest sister. He would go on to become one of the most notorious pirates of the Gulf Coast, a man celebrated each year at Fort Walton Beach's "Billy Bowlegs Festival."

To learn more, please visit the new page at www.twoeggfla.com/billybowlegs.