History buffs, this is the place for you! Find all things Florida history here, from prehistoric times to the 20th century. We explore Indian mounds, historic rivers, the oldest towns in Florida, and so much more. Florida is filled with a number of “firsts” and big names who made important discoveries or inventions here.
Six hundred years ago when the Spanish conquistadores first encountered the shores of Florida, they found a civilization of mound builders. Some of these Native American mounds in Florida still exist today. They can be seen at public parks and private lands throughout the state. Native American mounds in the Tampa Bay area showcase the…
A couple of years ago, in the course of designing a logo for my real estate business, a friend in California said, “Why lighthouses? Are there lighthouses in Florida?” That made me pause. I remember pushing back from my laptop, confused. Why wouldn’t there be lighthouses in Florida? We have the second-longest coastline in the…
In Part 1 of this series, Slavery in Florida in the 1600s, we learned how slavery started in Florida. In the 1700s, La Florida still remained under Spanish rule for most of the century. This meant that Florida slaves experienced much kinder treatment than their counterparts in the British colonies. Spain’s inclusive policy towards slaves…
Slavery in the New World began before the British settled places like Jamestown. Before the British, the Spanish occupied La Florida, a territory that included all of present-day Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Slavery in Florida actually came with the Spanish conquistadores. And with these first black people in North America came lots of firsts that…
I planned our entire Saturday on Amelia Island around seeing the historic Amelia Island Lighthouse. For years I have wanted to visit each of the many lighthouses along Florida’s Lighthouse Trail. Florida lighthouses number 30. Eighteen of those are part of the Florida Lighthouse Trail, of which only seven are publicly accessible by car or…