Before Fleming Island Plantation existed, the land along US 17 was a thick pine forest hiding the Fleming Island Naval Outer Landing Field, an auxiliary airfield built in 1942 for NAS Jax. When the Navy quit using it, it became known as the "Thunderbolt Raceway," a drag strip named after the war planes that were once housed there. The drag strip operated through the '50s and '60s, but was abandoned in the early 1970s. For nearly 3 decades, the woods were left alone, and wildlife flourished. Bear