FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — A Fernandina Beach landmark could soon destined for Davey Jones locker – or at least a museum.

City leaders are considering a proposal to move Peg Leg Pete into the Amelia Island Museum and put a new pirate statue in his place.

There was always going to be the debate of new versus old when it comes to replacing a fixture like Peg Leg Pete, but arguably the biggest drama with this statue is the treasure that lies within.

“I don’t really want to touch it,” said Edward Bouknight while walking his dog by the statue. “It might be cursed or something. Pirate cursed.”

Peg Leg Pete landed in downtown Fernandina Beach back in 1978 and has swashbuckled his way to his fair share of fans.

 “I think they should preserve it right here and leave it right here for everyone to see,” said Jerry Rosenberg. 

“Guests, they come in and take pictures with him, so I think he should stay,” said hotel worker Ron Daniels while looking at the statue on his break. 

After nearly 50 years of looking over his fellow mateys, Fernandina Beach leaders feel Peg Leg is on the verge of collapsing, so it may be time to head indoors.

“There’s either a new one, new something, or there’s nothing,” said Fernandina Beach Historic District Council President Arlene Filkoff during a meeting about the statue.

The Fernandina Pirates Club says Peg Leg managed to collect a few treasures through the years.

The group’s president, Joe Brown, says there is a time capsule in the base.

However, they made a more disturbing discovery that’s enough to make you say “shiver me timbers.”

“I’ve seen them. There are ashes,” said Brown during the Historic District Council meeting. “They’re not in the time capsule, they’re in the statue. We never really thought much about it. We figured they’d stay in Pete and go wherever Pete was.”

An attorney for the city says it may not be that simple.

“I know enough to be concerned there are cremains in there,” said City Attorney Teresa Prince during the meeting. “So far, we’ve had reliable sources tell us there are. We need to investigate that, confirm it, and I’d need to look into what we’d need to do to move it properly.”

The Fernandina Pirates Club commissioned Teenage Artist Jett Paxton, known as The Woodcarving Dude, to carve a new pirate statue if Peg Leg is moved to the Amelia Island Museum of History.

“It’s a local kid at 15 who carved it, local high school kids who painted it, local artist designed the sword,” said Paxton. “It’s everything Fernandina Beach stands for.”

 Paxton will have to wait to see how the hidden bounty plays out.

“Remains in the statue? It seems possible,” Bouknight said. “Crazier things have happened.”

The historic council also had some issues with how the new statue would be mounted, so they tabled a decision while that gets ironed out.

Between that and the possible cremains, there are still some things to sort out before an X marks the spot for a new statue.