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.
Today, it takes about three hours to get from St. Augustine to Tallahassee, heading north on I-95 then west on I-10. To get to Pensacola, you just stay on I-10 for about another three hours. The fact that Tallahassee is located approximately half way between St. Augustine and Pensacola is why it is our state capital. Looking at a map of our state, it would seem logical for the capital to be in...
Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861. We were the third state to do so, behind South Carolina and Mississippi. As a founding partner in the Confederate States of America, Florida helped to catapult the nation into a divisive and bloody Civil War. When Florida seceded, the island outpost of Key West remained under Union control throughout the war. Florida was readmitted into the...
In his play “Romeo and Juliet,” William Shakespeare wrote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet’s argument was that it doesn’t really matter what people, places, or things are called; it’s what they are that is important. Pioneers living in Central Florida in 1845 would disagree. When Florida became a state that year, the name Mosquito County...
As innocent four-year-old girls in the late 1940s, Katie, who is white, and Delia, an African-American, become best friends despite societal pressures against them. In 1960, when the girls are 16, Kate abandons her childhood friend when she is needed most. In 2006, Kate is working to earn Delia’s forgiveness as danger surrounds the women’s reunion. That’s the premise of the new novel “Reparation”...
In 1876, businessman Henry A. DeLand left his home in Fairport, New York, to visit his sister and brother-in-law in east central Florida. DeLand’s relatives, Mr. and Mrs. O.P. Terry, had created a rural homestead in west Volusia County. Henry DeLand left New York on a train to Jacksonville. From there he took a steamboat down the St. Johns River to Enterprise. A horse and buggy carried him the...
Spring has always been thought of as a period of renewal and rebirth. The season also has long been associated with revelry and excess. In the spring, ancient Greeks worshiped Dionysus, the god of wine. At the same time of year the Romans venerated Bacchus, their god of wine. Other pre-Christian pagan fertility rites evolved into contemporary May Day celebrations. Since the mid-twentieth century...
This is not the first column about Florida history and culture to appear in Florida Today . Many longtime residents of east central Florida remember fondly the articles of Weona Cleveland. For more than forty years, Weona Cleveland has written about the people, places, events, and even the plants that make our area unique and have brought us to where we are today. Weona Cleveland’s articles first...
Five hundred and one years ago, Juan Ponce de León set sail from Puerto Rico in search of undiscovered land, slaves, and gold. His fleet of three ships included the Santiago , the San Cristóbal , and the Santa María de la Consolación . The ships reached the northern end of the Bahamas by March 27, 1513, which was Easter Sunday. Ponce and his crew sailed for another few days until they sighted land...