This fascinating “sketchbook” of Florida history and culture focuses on the rural Red Hills of north Florida. Comprised of what is now Madison, Jefferson, and Leon counties, this region is home to a rich heritage that includes prehistoric people and megafauna, Native Americans, Spanish settlers, British soldiers, and Southern Plantations dependent upon the work of enslaved people. Celt and African traditions became incorporated into the Southern folklore of the area, including colorful traditions and ghost stories.

Rose Knox grew up listening to stories about the Red Hills of northern Florida. In her “own backyard,” an old, dilapidated antebellum mansion and one of the oldest pioneer cemeteries in the state of Florida were pivotal places of intrigue during her childhood. The Florida Historical Society Press has published her regional books Canoeing and Camping on the Historic Suwannee River: A Paddler’s Guide and Old Tales of the Forgotten South in a Georgia-Florida Swamp: Paddling Okefenokee. Both works were compiled in collaboration with Graham Schorb, her husband, an outdoor guide. Her profile pieces have been featured in Florida Wildlife Magazine and in Florida newspapers. Rose is a teacher at a rural college in the Red Hills and is a native Floridian.

Graham Schorb is also a native Floridian, and his many contributions have helped make this history book a reality. He assisted in searching out directions, finding historical locations, and working with his wife, Rose, on this, their third historical compilation. A few of the places in northern Florida he sought out and helped navigate to were: places of interest on the Aucilla and Suwannee Rivers; ancient ceremonial mounds; former Spanish mission sites and cemeteries; pioneer cemeteries; and antebellum mansion locations of the Red Hills.