Sir Lancelot Jones

Sir Lancelot Garfield Jones was born in 1898 on Key Biscayne, Florida, into a pioneering Black family that farmed the islands of Biscayne Bay. His father, Israel Lafayette Jones, bought land on Porgy Key, where the family grew pineapples and became major producers of key limes.

Lancelot and his brother King Arthur later became renowned fishing guides, taking wealthy and powerful visitors across the waters they knew intimately. But when developers pushed to transform the islands into a private resort community, Jones resisted.

He believed the bay, reefs, mangroves, and keys should remain wild. In 1970, Lancelot and his sister-in-law Kathleen sold more than 277 acres to the federal government for $1.2 million, helping protect the land that became Biscayne National Park .

But the agreement allowed Jones to remain in his family home for the rest of his life—a remarkable arrangement that let him continue living on the land his family had worked for generations. The Joy Trip Project celebrates the enduring legacy of Black American History.

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