Due to the river's importance during the Civil War, a six-cannon battery was placed on a bluff to prevent the passage of Union gunboats.

[additional citation(s) needed] In 1849, Jason Gregory built a plantation house at Ocheesee Landing, across from the park's current location.

The park was closed for the remainder of autumn and all through winter as staff toiled to cut hazardous trees and clear fallen wood.

[8] The varieties of hardwood trees include Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana), White oak (Quercus alba), Water hickory (Carya aquatica), Southern wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Florida maple (Acer floridanum), and Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).

It is a Critically endangered species on the IUCN Red List, due to estimated 98% decline in mature individuals within the last three generations.

[9] The Apalachicola valley served as a refugium for T. taxifola during the last ice age, when its range shrank due to cooler temperatures.

[10] Another critically endangered species found within Torreya State Park is the Florida Yew (Taxus floridana).

Some of the mammals there include deer, squirrel, raccoon, opossum, fox, skunk, rabbit, bobcat and black bear.

Numerous species of amphibians and reptiles exist there as well, such as the Eastern Hognose Snake, gopher tortoises, and the rare Apalachicola dusky salamander.