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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.

Join Yvonne Hill and Marguerite Jordan in collaboration with the Lee County Black History Society, Inc. as they recount the history of this beautiful island.

Sanibel, a barrier island on the southwest coast of Florida, was originally inhabited by the Calusa Indians around 1500. In 1513, explorer Ponce DeLeon landed ashore the exotic isle, with its brackish estuaries, plush mangrove jungles, and sandy beaches, opening the door for others who would eventually find their way to the island. Over time, Sanibel was visited by European explorers, slave traders, pirates, and Seminole Indians, all of whom added to its colorful and intriguing history. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the original settlers of modern-day Sanibel arrived on the island. These pioneers were a contrasting group of individuals, comprised of diverse ethic origins and cultures, yet all seemed to share a common goal of using hard work, resourcefulness, and determination to make the island their home. Their efforts and sacrifices greatly contributed to the growth and rich history of Sanibel as we know it today.

More than 100 years ago, visionary men recognized the attractiveness and potential of this land along the shores of St. Andrews Bay.

Previously known under such names like Park Resort, Floriopolis, and Harrison, Panama City was named such because a straight line between Chicago and the capital of the Central American country of Panama intersected the Florida town, and Panama City became the closest developed port on the mainland to the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal. Nothing would have been possible, however, without the hard work and investment of the town's founders. A local newspaper once reported that such men "saw that nature had dealt kindly with that section of the country and that with properly directed effort a great future awaited it.'? After more than 100 years, nature's kindness to those who reside on these shores is apparent. This volume pays tribute to Panama City by recognizing the places, events, and most importantly, the individuals who have inspired its success.

The Treasure Coast of Florida had been inhabited by indigenous peoples for many centuries when pioneer settlers began arriving from other parts of the United States in the late 1800s.

When the town of Vero was incorporated in 1919, it was one of several growing communities in the area. By 1925, when it became known as the city of Vero Beach and was designated the seat of the newly formed Indian River County, this small but prosperous coastal city was poised to become a thriving tropical destination that has managed to maintain a small-town atmosphere. In addition to its captivating natural beauty, Vero Beach has been home to a world-renowned citrus industry, a World War II naval air station, the Dodgers major-league baseball organization, the Piper Aircraft Company, and a vibrant cultural life.

Key Largo is a subtropical escape. The island's history has been shaped by coral reefs as well as wreckers, farmers, and fishermen.

Key Largo was homesteaded by intrepid families who braved life before the modern conveniences of running water, air-conditioning, and mosquito control were introduced. Inevitably, big changes were coming. Henry Flagler's Key West Extension changed the Florida Keys; hurricanes, too, have altered life here, especially the Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the strongest storm ever recorded in the United States. Since then, the island has been immortalized in movie and song, but modern Key Largo has been defined by fishing and diving, which led to the development of the hospitality industry that dominates today. This book reveals Key Largo's other facets: the coral castle, underwater park, pineapple farmers, and artists that carved their history on this island.

Prior to its incorporation in 1855, Tampa Town--as it was then known--was a desolate place to live, and disease and isolation kept many from settling in the area.

But as the century progressed, a new and exciting mode of transportation began to open up America's remaining frontiers, including the untamed Gulf Coast of Florida. When the railroad came to Tampa, thousands of adventure-seekers, tourists, and new residents came with it, all ready to soak up the balmy breezes and tropical pleasures of the city of Tampa.Tampa began to resemble a modern industrialized city by the turn of the century, due mainly to the grand vision and plans of one man. Henry B. Plant encouraged Tampa's growth by bringing the railroad to town and constructing the elaborate Tampa Bay Hotel, and he, along with other entrepreneurs, brought an economic boom to the region with new industries, such as cigars and citrus, and the promotion of tourism.

Tiny Amelia Island, in the northeast corner of Florida, was once among the most important ports in the western hemisphere.

Before Florida was granted statehood, the island served as an international gateway between Spanish Florida and the English colonies that would later become the United States. Where Spanish monks and pirates once roamed, the island eventually developed into a significant seaport that exported the rich resources of Florida's interior in the late 1800s. This era was known as the Golden Age of Amelia Island and the town located on its north end, Fernandina. The railroad that connected Amelia Island to the Gulf Coast was largely responsible for the Golden Age, as it brought a burgeoning economy and many of the South's most prominent and wealthy figures. Today the island is best known as a resort community but retains the influence and charm of its remarkable past.

Orlando amounted to little more than scattered log cabins in the pine forest when Orange County established it as the county seat in 1857.

One of the earliest buildings was a log hotel, indicating Orlando's future as a tourist destination. After its incorporation in 1875, wood-frame structures replaced the log cabins, and prosperous citizens built large houses around the developing government and business center. By 1900, as Orlando recovered from the economic disaster of the Great Freeze of 1894 and 1895, brick construction replaced wood frame as once pretentious houses close to the central city were torn down to make way for modern business blocks. As residences moved to less congested neighborhoods, schools and churches followed. From its beginning, people arrived in Orlando to prosper and build. Those men and their buildings are gone, but the history of the city is richer because of their presence. Orlando's story can be traced through the continuing cycle of constructing, demolishing, and rebuilding anew.

See the people and places that helped shape Boca Raton, Florida, into the proud city that it is today.

Boca Raton has long served as a beautiful home to a host of interesting and talented people, from the Tekesta Indians and the buccaneers who sought refuge in the calm waters of its natural inland harbor, to today's proud residents. From a hardscrabble agricultural outpost along Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast line, the city is today one of America's great resort destinations and a prime address for a growing number of people from all over the world who want to live ""the good life."" Personalities including first settler Thomas Moore Rickards, society architect Addison Mizner, and inventor Domina Jalbert have all helped define Boca Raton, adding to the brick-and-mortar landmarks, attractions, and natural features that shape its landscape.

Step onto the field and bear witness to baseball’s outsized impact on Florida’s Sunshine City.

Ghost stories from America's oldest city have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of St. Augustine comes to life--even when the main players are dead. Visit the Castillo de San Marcos to help a headless soldier look for a lost wedding ring. Or spot the ghostly boy dashing among the headstones at Tolomato Cemetery. And if you visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse, beware of the mischievous spirits who have been known to tie visitors' shoelaces together! Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Author Jeff Suwak guides readers on a tour of the often overlooked and all-but-forgotten components of Amelia Island history .

Beneath the sands and cobblestones of Amelia Island lies a richness of history disproportionate to the location's relatively small size. The bones of this place are composed of pirate treasures literal and metaphorical, remnants of ancient Timucuan Indians, a grim role in the illegal slave trade, tales of bravery and madness, and a scene for the triumph of the human spirit. Eight different flags have flown over Amelia Island. It was an important stage in the 1812 Patriot War, which most people have long forgotten. From Gregor MacGregor to Abraham Lincoln Lewis, characters strange and inspiring have left their mark in this island's psychic currents. Dead in some ways, they're still here in others, etched into the land itself and waiting to be discovered. Let's go find them .

Author Keri Watson guides readers on a tour through New Deal era Sunshine State parks and post office murals. Even before the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, the Florida economy was depressed from two major hurricanes, a citrus export embargo, and the collapse of the real estate market. Florida desperately needed the relief promised by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and actively participated in and benefited from a number of federally sponsored initiatives during the Great Depression. These programs were aimed at what the president termed “Relief, Recovery, and Reform,” and they impacted every sector of society from banking and farming to art and architecture. This collection offers a detailed look at the state parks and post offices built in Florida between 1931 and 1946. Looking at Florida’s Depression-era parks and post offices in concert elucidates the ways in which the natural and built environments work together to constitute the cultural landscape and provides insight into the role of the federal government in Florida’s construction as an exotic and tropical paradise.

Author Joy Sheffield Harris guides readers on an architectural tour through the religious diversity of the Sunshine State .

Over 200 years have passed since the first Florida church was established and today the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine has been restored to capture its original beauty. Pioneer Village Church at Shingle Creek is home to a replica of one the first churches built in the Kissimmee, the St. John's Episcopal Church. The former St. Paul's By-The-Sea is now the deconsecrated Beaches Chapel at The Beaches Museum and History Park in Jacksonville Beach. Travel throughout the state or enjoy the beauty of these and many more churches without leaving home.

MacDill Air Force Base--through global war, regional conflicts, and counterinsurgencies--has repeatedly answered the clarion call to arms and proven itself to be an unrivaled military juggernaut within America's strategic arsenal.

MacDill Air Force Base was first recognized as a suitable location for an airfield by US Army aviators flying mock warfare maneuvers over Tampa in May 1938. Satisfying the US War Department's geographical requirements for providing air defense of America's southern Atlantic coast and supporting air operations over the Caribbean, the site was approved in July 1939 to become the location for the Army Air Force-planned Southeast Air Base. It was later renamed MacDill Field in honor of Army Air Force aviator and pioneer Col. Leslie MacDill. The base was formally dedicated on April 16, 1941, and B-17 Flying Fortress and B-26 Marauder combat crewmen began training in the business of making war. From bomber and tactical fighter wings to combatant commands and aerial refueling squadrons,

Pine Island is tucked between the mainland of southwest Florida and Sanibel and Captiva islands, only 17 miles long and accessible by a single drawbridge.

The community of Pine Island is a rare and lingering remnant of old Florida, with many praising it as the new Key West. The island's shores are home to mangroves teaming with fish instead of crowded beaches, making it a major destination for sport fishing enthusiasts and providing a livelihood for the independent commercial fishing families of the island. Strolling the lazy street to Bokeelia's famous fishing pier, or exploring an active Calusa Indian archeological site in Pineland, the crowds and tourist-related glitz common to most of Florida's islands are nowhere to be found, leaving visitors to discover Pine Island's unspoiled beauty at their own pace.

Protruding further out into the Atlantic than any other point along Florida's east coast, Jupiter has long served as a port of call for sailors, settlers, tourists, and the occasional hurricane.

Before the famous Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse began sending flashes of warning to those at sea in 1860, Spanish explorers, Black and Seminole inhabitants, and early American pioneers began building their own histories there, contributing to the consciousness and pride of residents today.

Gear up for a frightful journey into the mysterious Ocala National Forest.

Central Florida is known as the happiest place on Earth. But an hour’s drive from the amusement parks lies a forest swirling with mystery. For generations, locals have whispered about a dark energy coming from the Ocala National Forest and drifting into nearby towns. Supernatural beasts and apparitions. Ghost lights galore. From cults to monsters to the spirts of those who ventured in yet never reemerged, the woods have long been a source of rumor and tragedy. The vengeful Coyote Woman who dispatches those with evil natures. The soldier of Fort King who vanishes when addressed. The spectral monk of Astor, on the hunt for his killer. Author and folklorist Christopher Balzano takes readers among the trees and beyond to offer a glimpse into the true stories, urban legends and haunted folklore whispered among the residents of these deep woods..

Discover the picturesque communities of Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach, one of the most popular and beloved travel destination on Flordia's coast.

The history of Central Brevard County is almost as long and complicated as the geographical borders of the county itself. Stretching north and south for 77 miles, Brevard County is a thin strip of land, barely 20 miles across at its widest point. Within these narrow confines, however, diverse and dynamic communities have left their marks and many continue to flourish, among them Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach. Only 32 miles in length, Merritt Island was once a scrub-covered parcel of land settled by hardy pioneers who raised cattle and cultivated citrus, vegetable, and pineapple crops. Though now a commercial and residential center, the careful observer can still find, tucked away in hammocks along the shore and surrounded by million-dollar homes, the old citrus groves, simple homes built by early settlers, and the remnants of small communities that were once hubs of activity. Cocoa Beach owes much of its story to the vision and energy of a single man, Gus Edwards, who promoted the area as a resort to rival the communities of Miami Beach and Venice. With the coming of the space
program to Florida's Atlantic coast in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the area built upon elaborately drawn subdivision plats and a few scattered buildings to become the bustling modern city it is today.

Once the third-largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola's diverse and colorful past remains visible today.

This delightful little fishing village has a warm and friendly atmosphere, making it even more appropriate that Apalachicola's name is a Native American word meaning ""friendly people."" When Apalachicola was established in 1831, its major industry was cotton export, and the city soon became an important port on the Gulf of Mexico. When the railroads expanded throughout the United States, Franklin County developed several large lumber mills to harvest and process wood from the surrounding cypress forests. These lumber magnates built many of the magnificent historic homes that still line Apalachicola's streets today. With more than 900 historic homes and buildings in the National Register Historic District, visitors are invited to stroll along the picturesque, tree-lined streets where Victorian homes display the charm of years gone by.

These pictorial images of Greek heritage illustrate the people and events that have shaped the culture and history of Tarpon Springs.

Beginning in 1905, large numbers of Greeks from the Dodecanese and Saronic Gulf islands settled in Tarpon Springs to work in the sponge business. They significantly expanded the industry and changed Tarpon Springs forever. Greektown flourished with residences, stores, churches, restaurants, and recreational facilities stretching from the sponge docks to downtown. Sponge fishing and related activities served as the economic base for the community. By 1913, as many as half of Tarpon Springs residents were reputedly Greek, and many businesses displayed both Greek and American flags. Today, Tarpon Springs' Greek community preserves a strong ethnic and maritime heritage. While some major US cities have a larger Greek population, no other has a greater percentage with Greek heritage than Tarpon Springs.

Beyond the sunny shores and emerald waters of Panama City, restless spirits lurk.

The ghosts that haunt this lovely city are reminders of Florida's past: the battles, murders, and destructive acts of nature that took the lives of countless men and women. Staff at the City Center for the Arts can still hear the footsteps of inmates pacing the cells of the Old County Jail that once occupied the grounds, and a phantom known as Virginia still frequents the elevators of the historic Bay County Courthouse. Not all spirits bring doom and gloom, however--one local family learned how to befriend the resident ghost of their new home that was fond of whistling at night. Using extensive research and interviews, author Beverly Nield details the ghastly history of haunted Panama City.