Florida Frontiers: The Weekly Newspaper Articles of the Florida Historical Society is a weekly newspaper article covering history-based events, exhibitions, activities, places and people in Florida. The newspaper articles premiered in January 2014. We explore the relevance of Florida history to contemporary society and promote awareness of heritage and culture tourism options in the state.
When Juan Ponce de León “discovered” Florida in 1513, native people had been living here for more than 10,000 years. The native population had complex societies, elaborate systems of trade, and their own ancient religions. They had villages with large ceremonial centers surrounded by buildings built on shell mounds. Villages throughout this land had council houses built of wood and thatch that...
Nestled within the hustle and bustle of urban south Florida is a serene and contemplative place that evokes rural Japan. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach was a gift to Floridians from successful farmer George Morikami, who emigrated here in 1906 as a member of the Yamato agricultural community. “The Japanese heritage of Palm Beach County is something that is really little...
A fleet of ships carrying 1,500 colonists sailed into what is now Pensacola Bay on August 15, 1559. The men, women, and children aboard the ships were led by Spanish conquistador Don Tristan de Luna. De Luna’s plan was to establish the first permanent European colony in North America. He called the settlement site Ochuse, La Florida. We call it Pensacola, Florida. The colony at Ochuse was to be...
Some unfortunate people suffer from the misconception that Florida history is boring. Other uninformed people don’t think that Florida has much significant history at all. None of these people has ever attended a Brevard Theatrical Ensemble presentation of “Mosquitos, Alligators, and Determination,” now in its all-new seventh edition. If they had, they would know that Florida history is exciting...
At 175 feet, the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida. In the United States, only North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Virginia’s Cape Charles Lighthouse are taller. Many people who brave the 203 steps to get to the top of the structure have a more difficult time coming down than going up. “We have to talk them down. Some people come down backwards on the stairway...
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” No, this is not a quote from Ernest Hemingway. That aphorism is from late 18 th and early 19 th century English cleric Charles Caleb Colton, but it does reflect the spirit of the Hemingway Days celebration. For the past week, the 34 th Annual Hemingway Days Festival has been held in Key West, with a “Hemingway in Key West” exhibit at the Custom House...
Forty-five years ago this week, the flight of Apollo 11 changed the course of human history. On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. into space. Four days later, Neil Armstrong, closely followed by Buzz Aldrin, left the lunar module Eagle and walked on the surface of the moon...
Doris Leeper was a visionary artist and environmentalist. She was instrumental in the creation of the Canaveral National Seashore, established the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna, and was a celebrated sculptor and painter. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Leeper was born in 1929. She graduated from Duke University in 1951 with a degree in art history. After a decade working as a...