Category Florida History
How many historical sites does your county contain?
The above map shows the distribution of officially designated National Historical sites by Florida county. Not surprisingly, Miami-Dade which has been home to Florida’s most metropolitan city for a hundred years has by far the most with 172. However, somewhat surprisingly Volusia County has the second most designated sites with 101 and Sarasota is third […]
Thursday Bookshelf: A Land Remembered
In the event you are scrambling for a late Florida-themed Christmas gift, I have a suggestion. A Land Remembered is perhaps the most fascinating historical fiction book about the state of Florida. No book describes old Florida and the transformation to modern state quite like A Land Remembered by Patrick D. Smith. The author who was […]
Florida becomes 3rd most populated state – some thoughts
When Florida became the nation’s 4th largest state in 1987, I was ecstatic. As a young kid I will admit I had an inferiority complex with many areas from the rest of the nation who got more attention on TV, had more pro sports teams and where all my relatives lived. Boasting about Florida’s size, […]
Flashback Friday – Law Enforcement excesses towards African-Americans in Florida since 1980
Below I will chronicle several incidents of law enforcement excess towards African-Americans in the state of Florida since 1980. This is not meant to provoke a “race war” in the comments section but is intended to raise awareness about what has transpired in this state through the years for those who may not know the […]
Flashback Friday: 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Pensacola
In 1814, Pensacola and Florida was still nominally Spanish territory although the Napoleonic Wars had left much of Spain’s control over its colonial empire in ruins. With the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland at war with the United States, General Andrew Jackson who had just defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of […]
Tuesday Poll: Special Elections
Last week qualifying closed for multiple legislative Special Elections. The Democrats have placed only token opposition in some of the races while no opposition in others. It must be openly stated however for those wanting to beat up on the party that all four seats (3 House and 1 Senate) where Special Elections will take […]
Flashback Friday: Siege of Pensacola lifted
We had previously discussed that in 1707 the first English/Creek Indian siege of Pensacola was lifted and the Spanish remained in control of West Florida. This was part of the hostilities associated with Queen Anne’s War. We discussed the siege of St Augustine in April 2013 when the British came dangerously close to taking East Florida. […]
Thursday Bookshelf: Dream State
I get very self conscious when people make fun of Florida – the exception to that general rule of mine is when Floridians especially those from long-time Florida families mock our state. Diane Roberts formerly of the St Pete Times, FSU Professor and longtime NPR commentator. Roberts family has lived in Florida since the 18th […]
Monday Musings – HD-21, Kristin Jacobs, Pam Bondi, AG Race, Ukraine, Hurricane Wilma anniversary, 2004 Hurricanes and impact on elections
There’s been a whole lot of talk about reading the absentee and early vote returns and if they are good signs for the Democrats or the Republicans. While the memo wars are quite amusing, the bottoms line is this: early voting is still a fairly new idea and it is still continuing to change voting […]
The Florida Squeeze 