Name: Pirates & Smugglers of the Treasure Coast
Brand: Patrick S. Mesmer
SKU: 9781467141796
Price: 23.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Pirates & Smugglers of the Treasure Coast

9781467141796

$23.99

For hundreds of years, colorful characters and criminals used the myriad coves and inlets along the Treasure Coast for illicit commerce. From the early days of privateer Henry Jennings to the notorious Prohibition exploits of the Ashley Gang, these sandy shores have been a refuge for those looking to trade on the dark side of the law. Legendary tales of Don Pedro Gibert, Spanish Marie and Al Capone all contribute to the lore of a region that is home to buried treasure and family crime empires. Join historians Patrick and Patricia Mesmer on a journey through the Sunshine State's shadowy past.

Pirates & Smugglers of the Treasure Coast

History Lover's Guide to Florida, A

9781467143387

$23.99

Florida is a state of transplants. Even people who relocated here decades ago still claim their birthplace as their home. They might change their mind if they knew that the Sunshine State owns one of the richest histories in the nation. Decades before the Pilgrims, the Spanish celebrated Thanksgiving in Florida. Centuries before the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York, the holiday was celebrated in St. Augustine, where urban renewal was underway when Jamestown settlers arrived. Author James Clark offers a lifetime of places to explore and thousands of facts to fascinate, tracing the state's long history from Pensacola to the Florida Keys.

Fort Clinch, Fernandina and the Civil War

9781467145961

$21.99

Even though Fernandina was tucked away in the far southern reaches of the Confederacy, Fort Clinch had been abandoned to Federal forces by March 1862. It proved a boon to the Union war effort, and the island became a haven for runaway slaves, with many joining the Federal army. The military occupation of this vital seaport helped end the war, and the Reconstruction period that followed bore witness to Union and Confederate veterans working together to bring Fernandina into a golden era of prosperity. Author and local historian Frank A. Ofeldt III captures the vital and under-told story of Amelia Island during the Civil War.

Fort Clinch, Fernandina and the Civil War

Lost Attractions of Florida's Miracle Strip

9781467150330

$23.99

Beginning in the early 1950s, the 130 miles of Florida coastline stretching from Panama City to Pensacola were branded as the Miracle Strip. Between those cities, oddities sprang up: goofy miniature golf courses, neon-bedecked motels, reptile farms and attractions that sought to re-create environments ranging from the South Pacific to the ghost towns of the Old West. In total, it was a marketing effort that worked brilliantly. Tourists flocked to the Strip, and now they can return. Author Tim Hollis presents a colorful array of these now-vanished sights, from the garish Miracle Strip Amusement Park to such oddities as Castle Dracula and the Museum of the Sea and Indian.

Lost Attractions of Florida's Miracle Strip

Village of North Palm Beach

9781467143110

$21.99

While North Palm Beach itself is relatively young--just about retirement age--the history of this area is as broad as the horizon. Long before this village was founded in 1956, the Jeaga tribe lived and thrived here. In 1883, perhaps with a mind to farm pineapples, two men began purchasing local plots, becoming the area's first landowners. From there, through fits and starts, this idyll of small-town life began to take shape. The population surged in 1956 when Pratt & Whitney built a facility west of town, making the village a destination for professionals and their families. Former village historian Rosa Sophia traces the long and fascinating history of North Palm Beach, touching on the little known and providing broader understanding of the people and events that nurtured the undeniable community atmosphere that exists today.

Haunted Florida Lighthouses

9781467153836

$21.99

Author Heather Leigh Carroll-Landon guides readers on a spine-tingling tour through Florida’s haunted lighthouses. Lighthouses dot the Florida coast, there to help seafarers navigate their way to shore. But when tragedy comes for Florida, it often blows in from the sea, giving the lighthouses and the cursed men and women inside a first look at horror. The lively spirits of teenage sisters inhabit the St. Augustine Lighthouse, where an accident claimed their lives, suspending them in their playful youth. A storm wiped out the Sand Key Lighthouse in 1846, claiming the lives of 16 whose spirits now chatter away—generally in contented tones but sometimes straying into anger. A Civil War casualty roams near the Amelia Island Lighthouses, holding to a promise to see his love one last time before departure.

St. Augustine Pirates and Privateers

9781609497217

$19.99

Entrenched on Florida's Atlantic Coast since the sixteenth century, the Spanish presidio of St. Augustine was a prime target for piracy. For the colonial governors of Great Britain, France and Spain, privateering--and its rogue form, piracy--was a type of warfare used to enhance the limited resources of their colonies. While the citizens of St. Augustine were victims of this guerrilla war, they also struck back at their enemies using privateers such as Francisco Menendez, whose attacks on British ships strengthened his reputation and sustained the city. Historian Theodore Corbett recounts this dark and turbulent history, from the first sacking of the city by Francis Drake, through the pirate raids of the 1680s to the height of St. Augustine's privateering in the eighteenth century.

Panama City Beach

9781609491413

$21.99

Preserved in these pages are the rich and storied history of the scenic waterfront town of Panama City Beach.

In a collection of nostalgic and lighthearted vignettes, local author Jeannie Weller Cooper recounts the history of Panama City Beach, the barrier islands and beach for old Panama City. First inhabited by Native Americans in the years before the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Panama City Beach has always proved a good hideout for fugitives, from Native Americans fleeing from European invaders to runaway slaves, Civil War soldiers, outlaws and rumrunners. In 1929, the first Hathaway Bridge was completed; connecting Greater Panama City to the beach, but the lagoon and the beach remained a sleepy curiosity until the bombing of Pearl Harbor mobilized the United States to war. Now Panama City Beach is home to thousands of residents, as well as being a renowned tourist destination.

Charlotte County, Florida

9781467146500

$21.99

At the end of the Civil War, the area around Charlotte County was the southernmost frontier in the United States. Americans rushed south for the promise of cheap land in paradise. Albert W. Gilchrist peddled that dream with great fanfare, but his outsized legacy as a driver of the area's growth comes with considerable baggage. As Charlotte County strives to reinvent itself once again, historian Ted Ehmann provides a historical lost-and-found where heroes fall from grace and new heroes are created. It's an account that predates the arrival of the railroad by millennia, weaving its way from the Calusa kingdom to present day, stripping the remnants of myth created by early developers' utopian promises.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Spanning Tampa Bay

9781626190023

$21.99

Of the more than 5,200 bridges in the state of Florida, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spanning scenic Tampa Bay, is by far the most famous. But the award-winning bridge that residents and tourists cross on a daily basis isn't the first to hold the Skyway name. Numerous versions of the current bridge have stretched across lower Tampa Bay, and each has its own remarkable history. Nevin and Ric Sitler detail the suspension cables, concrete, nuts and bolts and political battles that combined to produce the fantastic history of the Skyway bridges and other historic Tampa Bay crossings. Join this father-and-son team on their journey across the historic bay.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Spanning Tampa Bay

Haunted St. Augustine and St. Johns County

9781626192263

$14.99

St. Johns County and St. Augustine are some of the earliest settled areas in the United States, and both are home to fascinating history. The area's story is filled with tales from Native Americans, early European settlers and modern-day Floridians. In some places, the habitants of those historical moments have remained. From the Castillo de San Marcos to the Huguenot Cemetery and the authentic old drugstore, the city and the county are filled with fascinating and terrifying stories of lingering spirits. Join photojournalist couple Elizabeth and Bob Randall as they recount the stories of the things that haunt one of America's oldest regions.

Haunted St. Augustine and St. Johns County

Burdine's:

9781609493981

$21.99

The story of the Sunshine State's most famous store actually began in Bartow, Florida, where William Burdine and a partner founded a small dry goods store. When his partner left the business in 1897, Burdine made the decision to move his store to a dynamic frontier town on the far southeast coast of Florida--Miami. By the early twentieth century, many Floridians were familiar with Burdine's famous Sunshine Fashions that reflected the relaxed, subtropical locale and helped define the region's identity. Join Miami historian Seth Bramson as he relates Burdine's storied history, when the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor perused elegant displays and customers frequented the tearooms for a slice of the famous--and decadent--pecan pie. There will never be another store quite like Burdine's.

Florida in the Spanish-American War

9781609490881

$21.99

Florida began as a Spanish colony, with governing headquarters in Havana, Cuba. It is fitting, then, that the state played such a large role in the Spanish-American War. As a base of training and combat operations, Florida's involvement was crucial to the war effort. Join trusted historians Joe Knetsch and Nick Wynne as they log a fascinating chapter in Florida's history--a time when Roosevelt's Rough Riders prepared for battle at Tampa bases, when battleships departed from south Florida ports to avenge the sunken USS Maine and when a nation looked to the Sunshine State to help unite America around a common cause, even as the nation still struggled to come to terms with the Civil War and Reconstruction

An Ocklawaha River Odyssey

9781467139632

$24.99

Photojournalists Bob and Liz Randall spent two years exploring Floridaâ€™s ancient and enchanting Ocklawaha River. Their journey provides an inside look at the rich recreational resources of the river, its wildlife and the people, past and present, who contributed to its history and welfare. Along the way, they met artists, environmentalists, captains, law enforcement officials, conservationists, filmmakers, historians and local descendants whose lives are inextricably intertwined with the prehistoric river. From its subterranean and aquatic past to the Seminole Indian Wars, the steamboat era and political struggles, many voices are integral to the riverâ€™s survival and to one of the longest environmental conflicts in Florida history.

Lost Restaurants of Fort Lauderdale

9781467144605

$21.99

So many iconic Fort Lauderdale restaurants have come and gone. From steakhouses to floating eateries and a doughnut shop that catered to a strictly adult audience, these dining destinations served up everything from gourmet seafood to post-beach chill food. Here, you can have another slice at Pizio's Drive-Inn, another heaping plate of pasta at Tina's Spaghetti House, a guilt-free brandy snapp at Fred Wenner's and a final long night at Porky's Hideaway. From the snow crab bisque at Mango's to the key lime baked Alaska from The Caves, authors Todd Bothel and Dan Santoro also serve up vintage recipes that allow readers to re-create classic dishes from these beloved Fort Lauderdale institutions.

Preserving Paradise:

9781596291522

$21.99

In the nearly 500 years since the Florida Keys were discovered by Christopher Columbus in his search for the Fountain of Youth, Key West has been the home of a dazzling array of inhabitants. The picturesque island has been populated with native Indians, European settlers, pirates and other various scallywags, pineapple farmers and an endless stream of sailors from far-flung ports of call. Each faction brought with it to the island a unique past and culture, and no where can this variety of influences be more readily observed than in Key West's historic architecture.

The intriguing history of Key West can be deciphered through the architecture of its buildings--each façade and portico offers another subtle detail in the island-city's larger story. Preserving Paradise, by author and executive director of the Historic Florida Keys Foundation George Born, reveals the nuances of Key West's architecture and uses it to illuminate many aspects of Conch Republic history.

With a warm, readable style, Born explores a range of topics, including Key West's prevalent architectural styles, the preservation of historic structures, the history of building materials, and the effect of hurricanes on the city's architectural heritage. Committed to preserving Key West's architecture and the past it represents, Born explains in detail just why Key West is so architecturally unique, and why the city's buildings, streets and neighborhoods are a repository of history that can be discovered by experts and weekend visitors alike.

Wicked Palm Beach:

9781596297944

$21.99

During the Prohibition era, the Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach featured a secret hallway that led to a clandestine speakeasy called Hypocrite's Row." About the same time, the infamous Ashley gang, a ragtag band of violent criminals, had South Florida gripped in fear. Indeed, few eras in few places were as exciting, outrageous and tragic as the period between World War I and the hammer fall of the Great Depression, when Florida partied, passed out and woke up with one heck of a hangover. From rumrunners to pirates, mobsters to moguls, Palm Beach County has hosted its fair share of questionable characters over the decades. Meet the faces and places that have shaped Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast with renowned local author Eliot Kleinberg, who draws on his "Post Time" column in the Palm Beach Post to offer this unique glimpse into the extraordinary history of Palm Beach."

Streetcars of Florida's First Coast

9781626197077

$23.99

In the late 1800s, a new method to power streetcars ushered Florida's First Coast cities into the modern era. Earlier travelers moved around town on hay burners, but after the very first electric-powered trolley cruised up Jacksonville's Main Street in 1893, railways cropped up throughout the region. When the new railroad terminal opened in 1919, it handled millions of passengers, becoming the hub of the streetcar system and the largest railroad station in the South. With almost sixty miles of track, the Jacksonville Traction Company was the largest streetcar system in Florida. Award-winning author and historian Robert W. Mann chronicles the story behind Florida's bygone streetcar epoch and the dramatic history of city builders, financiers, organized labor, civil rights, fire, fever, nabobs and railway men.

Haunted Inns, Pubs and Eateries of St. Augustine

9781609494087

$19.99

Once sought after by French Huguenots, Spanish invaders, English privateers and indigenous tribes, St. Augustine is a melting pot of cultural conquests. Anyone who traces its cobblestone streets, sails its vast shoreline or explores its unique architecture senses those who came before. Paranormal researcher and author Dr. Greg Jenkins examines ghostly happenings in the city's charming inns, pubs and eateries that keep guests looking over their shoulders. There's the lady with the lantern perched atop the Casablanca Inn who still searches for seafaring bootleggers and the spirit "Catalina" who peers through the window at hungry diners in Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille. Enjoy these stories and more, with personal interviews and documented visitor logs from the featured establishments.

Haunted Inns, Pubs and Eateries of St. Augustine

Haunted Big Bend, Florida

9781609497620

$21.99

Florida's Big Bend region is sometimes known as the Forgotten Coast," but the tales of its haunts are anything but forgotten. This small cluster of towns and cities has produced a body of ghost lore that rivals any stories produced in the state's better-known haunted cities. One of the towns in the Big Bend--Monticello--is known in paranormal circles as one of the most haunted places in the entire Southeast. Old City Cemetery in Tallahassee is the oldest public cemetery in the city and has a long list of chilling encounters. Join author Alan Brown as he recounts the history of one of Florida's most terrifying regions."

Growing Up in Northern Palm Beach County:

9781626195912

$21.99

A childhood in Florida's charming Northern Palm Beach County creates genuine nostalgia for sun, sand and running barefoot under palm trees. Those memories include hurricanes and Hetzel Brothers Christmases, Sir Harry Oakes's haunted mansion and James Munroe Munyon's Fountain of Youth. The once quaint little coastal towns from Riviera Beach to Jupiter are now much larger, but the memories of s'mores and summer camps remain. Author Ruth Hartman Berge weaves memories of a boomer childhood in Northern Palm Beach County with the history of the people and the places so many loved in this glimpse into a Florida that no longer exists.

Growing Up in Northern Palm Beach County:

Cocoa, Florida:

9781626194298

$21.99

Cocoa is the gateway to America's Spaceport. But before it became the tourist haven it is today, it was a small village settled by fishermen and their families. The city's location on the Indian River Lagoon made it central to early steamboat passage and breathed life into fishing and commerce. After World War II, the space age brought science and engineering to nearby Cape Canaveral. The city also has a history of baseball nearly as long as the sport itself. It was home to the Cocoa Fliers of the 1940s and hosted the Houston Colt 45s during spring training for twenty years. Join author Bob Harvey as he recounts the sunny history of one of the Space Coast's oldest cities.

The Boca Raton Resort & Club: Mizner's Inn

9781596295278

$21.99

The Boca Raton Resort & Club, originally known as the Cloister Inn, was designed by famed Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner to house prospective investors in his planned Boca Raton development. His dream, however, dissolved with the end of the Florida land boom and the 1926 Miami hurricane, as his Cloister Inn was acquired by utilities magnate Clarence Geist. Geist hired hotel architects Schultze and Weaver to design a major addition to the hostelry. Reopened as the Boca Raton Club in 1930, it became a principal employer and the primary tourist attraction in Boca Raton in ensuing years, its revival linked in many ways with that of the small community. Join architectural historian Donald Curl as he chronicles the lovely landmark that opened in 1926 as a small inn on Lake Boca Raton and has since become the city's most exclusive destination.

The Boca Raton Resort & Club: Mizner's Inn

Historic Homes of Florida's First Coast

9781626197268

$21.99

Some of the earliest European settlers colonized Northeast Florida when it was little more than a wilderness. Today, the area is rich in multicultural heritage and historic significance, and its historic homes stand as a testament to its intriguing past. Step inside a Second Spanish Period structure that was home to European royalty and visited by iconic film star Greta Garbo. Visit the places that inspired works such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Yearling" and British composer Frederick Delius's masterpiece, "Florida Suite." Author and award-winning photographer Mary Atwood explores the homes of early colonial settlers, wealthy plantation owners, illustrious Florida artists and those responsible for shaping Florida's First Coast."

William and Mary Brickell:

9781609492137

$21.99

Beyond the streets and buildings that now bear the name Brickell is the rich history of William and Mary Brickell, who worked alongside Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler to found Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Hollywood writer and director Beth Brickell has uncovered the history of this dynamic couple, from William's origins in Ohio to his adventures in the California and Australian gold rushes and marriage to Mary. This never-before-told story reveals both disappointment and triumph as these two pioneers clashed with Flagler and John D. Rockefeller during the robber baron days of the oil industry and finally tamed the wilderness of South Florida.

Winter Park Chronicles

9781609490744

$21.99

With its warm sunshine and warm people, Winter Park is truly a city for all seasons. Yet this Florida gem isn't just defined by its wonderful weather, it is also defined by its rich history. Join
husband and wife team Gayle and Steve Rajtar as they remember the people, places and organizations that shaped Winter Park into the storied city it is today. Culled from their popular historical column published in Winter Park Magazine, each chapter adds a colorful piece of history to the Winter Park mosaic. From the founding of celebrated institutions like Rollins College to the formation of beloved parks like the Kraft Azalea Garden, this collection captures the essence of Winter Park

The Golden Era in St. Petersburg: Postwar Prosperity in The Sunshine City

9781609498375

$21.99

Between 1946 and 1963, St. Petersburg was the quintessential Sunbelt city experiencing a post-World War II boom and wrestling with the problems that accompanied rapid growth. The city's old-school techniques of promotion expanded the population from about 60,000 to more than 180,000 in eighteen years. The city developed a split personality--it aimed to be modern but retained a dated, rustic appearance. Follow St. Petersburg author and journalist Jon Wilson as he details how the city coped with relative isolation, an aging business district and cultural changes brought about by the coming of integration, the emergence of rock-and-roll, cookie-cutter subdivisions and the still-novel medium of television.

The Golden Era in St. Petersburg: Postwar Prosperity in The Sunshine City

Orlando, Florida

9781626191945

$21.99

Orlando is known internationally as a tourist destination, attracting fifty million visitors each year to its numerous resorts and parks. In all that excitement, it's easy to overlook the city's interesting past. In the 1800s, the area was embroiled in the Seminole Wars, and Fort Gatlin was constructed to shield citizens from attacks. Soon, a city grew around the fort. During the cowboy era, thousands of cattle, ranchers and cowboys crossed the central Florida terrain moving livestock. Those pioneers soon moved to farming, and Orlando became the center of the Florida citrus industry. Join author and historian James C. Clark as he reveals the remarkable history of one of the world's most popular destinations.

Florida Outhouses:

9781596292833

$9.99

The advent of indoor plumbing spelled the end of outhouses in Florida, and through the decades these unique structures have become more and more rare. Now grandparents have to explain to their puzzled grandchildren how the odd-shaped outbuildings with the crescent moon carved in the door used to stand in backyards across the country.

Featuring a collection of photographs that highlight outhouses across the state of Florida, this book preserves the memory of these disappearing structures. Also included are the amusing answers to common outhouse questions, including

*Why were crescent moons carved into outhouse doors?

*What determined the size and shape of an outhouse?

*Should outhouse doors open inward or outward?

*What was used in outhouses in the years before toilet paper?

Part photographic journey, part trivia, this delightful look at Florida's outhouses will make readers truly privy to a beloved structure that's quickly vanishing from the landscape.

Homestead, Florida:

9781626191877

$21.99

Originally settled prior to the coming of the Florida East Coast Railway in 1904, Homestead became only the second incorporated municipality in Dade County in 1913. A land of rich soil steeped in agricultural heritage, the area soon grew into a marvelously diverse city of more than sixty thousand residents. The foundation laid by the railroad gave way to the aviation industry when the city became home to Homestead Air Force Base, now Homestead Air Reserve Base. The city has also dealt with adversity, rebuilding itself from the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Homestead is now the gateway to two national parks and is home to Homestead-Miami Speedway, a unique winery and a thriving business community. Join authors Seth H. Bramson and Bob Jensen as they detail the rich history of this South Florida gem.

Legends and Lore of Fort Lauderdale's New River

9781467148221

$21.99

The New River winds its way through a mysterious and tumultuous history, from the whirlpools of a legendary birth to banks stained with the blood of a massacre. Long-lost tribes flourished on the bounty of fish from its crystal-clear water and game from its wooded shores, only to succumb to European weapons and disease. They were replaced by Seminoles and runaway slaves, with a few white pioneers seeking opportunity in the new southern frontier. After the Civil War, a trickle of immigrants became a flood of Confederate refugees and northern opportunists. South Florida's destiny was changed forever when inshore transportation evolved from foot and hoof to inland waterway and steel rails. Schemes to "drain the Everglades" turned swamp to subdivisions with the New River at its core. Trace the storied arc of Fort Lauderdale's ancient waterway with author Donn R. Colee Jr.

Legends and Lore of Fort Lauderdale's New River

Paradise for Sale:

9781596298446

$21.99

Internationally publicized as the happiest place on earth decades before Disney arrived, the Sunshine State experienced a brief and wondrous economic boom in the mid-1920s. Entrepreneurs and real estate developers became overnight millionaires as they created luxury seaside resorts, golfing communities and country clubs. Greats, near greats, the famous, the infamous, movie stars, politicians, athletes, ne'er-do-wells, preachers, foreign royalty, con artists, educators, labor leaders, union members, every element of American and world society flocked to the Pleasure Paradise of the World."? Florida was a perpetual motion machine, destined to go on forever. But in 1926, small bank failures led to panic, the new federal income tax law led to bankruptcy and a series of hurricanes decimated the tourist trade. Florida's great boom had gone bust, not to recover until World War II. However, Floridians remained optimistic that the sun of prosperity would rise again."

From Sandbar to Sophistication:

9781596292017

$21.99

This herculean saga of city building is a story not only of weather, place, beach and buildings but also of people?people with foresight, dedication and determination. In the mid-1920s, no one could have known that today's sophisticated city of Sunny Isles Beach would eventually emerge from what was then little more than a sandbar. Starting from the original vision of Harvey Baker Graves, the area developed into one of the nation's foremost tourist destinations and eventually into a great city. On the tenth anniversary of the city's incorporation, this collection of vintage and current images commemorates the beauty and uniqueness of the past and honors the city's founders, developers and citizens.