Arcadia Bestsellers

The Ormond Beach area's earliest known inhabitants were the Timucua Indians, whose primitive, blunt-nosed canoes skimmed the waters of the Halifax and Tomoka Rivers in northeast Volusia County.

Soon, hardy settlers also made their way to the area--brothers John Andrew and Charles Bostrom were attracted by the mighty oaks and sparkling spring water in 1868 and were soon followed by other rugged visionaries. As the town grew, entrepreneurs began their work, and one of the most famous area landmarks, the Hotel Ormond, was opened in 1888. At the turn of the century, the hard-packed white sands of the nearby beach became a natural proving ground for gas- and steam-driven horseless carriages--the original ""birthplace of speed."" The region was blessed with abundant resources, a mild and inviting climate, and natural beauty, all of which served to entice John D. Rockefeller, perhaps Ormond Beach's most famous resident, to spend his winters in the area. His three-story home now serves the community as a cultural center and museum.

Tiny and quiet today, Floral City's past was as a commercial center of the phosphate industry during the boom of the early 20th century.

Established in 1883, Floral City is one of the oldest communities in Citrus County. Today, it is the only surviving town in the county's southeastern quadrant and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its appearance today is deceiving, however, because this tiny, quiet, laid-back village was once a sprawling, dynamic town. Floral City grew as the main commercial center of Citrus County during the Florida hard-rock phosphate boom of the early 20th century and was known for its beautiful homes, commerce, and state-of-the-art technology, including electricity and telephone service. With a population of nearly 10,000 people in 1914, it was one of the largest towns in Florida until the phosphate industry collapsed as World War I disrupted exports to Europe. Floral City never recovered economically and reverted to its original small-town ambience.

In 1880, there was a brutal murder in sunny paradise. This is the story of greed, violence, and a sensational trial that still captures the public's imagination even well after 100 years have passed.

Archie Newton stepped off the river steamer in 1880 with a letter of introduction and a secret, the young man hoping for a new life on the Florida frontier. Samuel McMillan was a miserly Sanford bachelor who carried large sums of "greenbacks" and trusted no one. One would think that since the ambitious Newton had his eye on purchasing McMillan's profitable orange grove, he wouldn't be foolish enough to do something reckless, but on his way back from Newton's home one evening, McMillan disappeared, and he wasn't seen again until his headless, mutilated corpse was pulled from a nearby lake. Newton's trial was sensational and the evidence gruesome, and local legends grew of a headless ghost rising from the lake, but was the young man in the courtroom innocent or guilty? Author Andrew Fink chronicles the twists and turns of this shocking story.

Lakeland offers an entrancing mix of urban, rural, and historic aspects that earn it the title of ""Florida's Best Town.""

Munnville, Rome City, and Redbug were just a few of the suggested names for the small Central Florida community that would come to be known as Lakeland. Not long after its founding, other descriptive monikers-""Lovely City of Lakes"" and ""Highest, Healthiest, Busiest""-would be applied. Recently ranked as the tenth ""Best Place to Live"" of medium-sized cities in the South, Lakeland today offers an entrancing combination of contrasting elements that all work well together. Fields of strawberries and rolling hills covered with citrus groves surround a growing city comprised of a mixture of structures, both new and old, modern and beautifully preserved. Commercial entities join with cultural organizations in mutually beneficial relationships to produce a quality of life that many other cities only hope to attain. Lakeland may well be as it was advertised in 1905-""Florida's Best Town.""

Author Erik T. Robinson takes the reader through the city's colorful past up to its promising future using both familiar and never-before-seen photographs.

Located in the rolling hills of Florida's Panhandle, Tallahassee has long stood as a capital city. It has been home to prehistoric Native Americans, who built the Lake Jackson Mounds in the 13th century; the Apalachee Indians, who learned to live with the Spanish Mission in the 17th century; and to European settlers and the American residents of today. Tallahassee's tree-lined, canopied roads and bountiful dogwoods and azaleas have always been associated with the leadership and history of the state. The presence of institutions such as Florida State University and Florida A&M have also made Tallahassee an attractive center of higher learning and diversity. Throughout prosperity and adversity, both Tallahassee's population and complexity have continued to increase. Combining historic landmarks, such as the San Luis Archaeological Site and the Old City, and new neighborhoods, such as Frenchtown and Lafayette Park, the capital city is a unique representation of Florida, from its days as a territory to its status as one of the country's most visited states.

Daytona lays claim to being The World's Most Famous Beach, and with good reason. Experience the birthplace and home of NASCAR in 100 years of racing on the sands.

NASCAR, one of America's favorite pastimes, got its start on Daytona Beach--""The World's Famous Beach."" For decades people have flocked to Daytona's 23 miles of white sand not only for relaxation and spring breaks, but also for the racing action once offered on its hard-packed sand shore. Dozens of records were set on the beach during low tide before promoter Bill France Sr. organized the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing at the Streamline Hotel in 1947. From those humble beginnings years ago, France turned his vision of what NASCAR could become into the brand of racing known today. Daytona Beach: 100 Years of Racing follows NASCAR's evolution from grassroots racing to its rise as one of the most talked about spectator sports in the world. The more than 200 images in this photo history illustrate why this sport--once known only to those south of the Mason-Dixon Line--is now aninternational phenomenon. Travel the course of racing's famous and lesser-known heroes like Sir Malcolm Campbell, Lawson Diggett, Clessie L. Cummins, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Experience the pile-ups, victories, and defeats, and understand why NASCAR history is incomplete without Daytona Beach.

Mention Daytona Beach, and most people would have images of brilliantly painted stock cars roaring over the racetrack at over 200 miles per hour.

Some would envision sun-worshipping beach-goers covering the beaches during spring break. However, the Daytona Beach area has a colorful history that reaches back decades before the town became one the world's key auto racing centers as well as one of the most famous and beautiful beach communities.

Large landholders sold property in this unknown paradise to working-class people, and since the 1950s, Port Charlotte has had a colorful history of progress.

In the '50s, General Development Corporation created Port Charlotte by expanding the canals previously dug by John Murdock to drain the swampy land. The Mackle Company carved Arthur Frizzell's 80,000 acres into small, perfectly rectangular lots for resale to middle-class retirees--the targets of mass advertising and sales practices that included displaying models of Port Charlotte in department stores throughout Chicago and New York. Encouraging retirees to come to Port Charlotte resulted in the area having one of the highest concentrations of residents aged 65 and older in the nation. Port Charlotte's boom-and-bust history is a microcosm of the frenzied social and economic growth that transformed Florida in the second half of the 20th century.

The area known as Manatee County opened for settlement at the close of the Second Seminole War in 1841.

This was due to Congress's passage of the Armed Occupation Act of 1842, which allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of land at a cost of $1.25 an acre if they were able to bear arms and live on the land for five years. It wasn't long before settlers appeared up and down the beautiful Manatee River, led by Josiah Gates and his family on the south side. Many of his friends had suffered losses with the collapse of the Union Bank in Tallahassee and were anxious to join him. The opulent shores on both sides of the river quickly enticed other settlers to make their claims, offering a cornucopia filled with some of Florida's best resources for growth and prosperity. This volume provides a pictorial account of those lives, which were caught in the struggle to carve out a niche against all odds in a place that faced epidemics of yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, and a third uprising of the Seminole Indians. In 1861, Florida seceded from the Union, which was followed by the Civil War with a Union victory in 1865 that brought an end to slavery and plantation ownership.

Retrace the history of Ybor City from its beginnings in the Cigar Industry to the colorful Latin community it is today.

In 1885, Vicente Martínez Ybor purchased 40 acres of land northeast of Tampa, and there he began the cigar industry that would soon draw thousands of immigrants to Ybor City. The diverse population of the area, known as Tampa's ""Latin Quarter,"" came from Cuba, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Some residents worked in the various stages of cigar manufacturing, from picking tobacco to constructing cigar boxes, while others operated the local shops and businesses. A unique culture grew from the intermingling of the various traditions and languages found in Ybor City, and residents proudly proclaimed themselves Los Tampaños (or Tampanian). A strong sense of community has been an ever-present part of Ybor City, through the politically charged years of Cuba's fight for independence as well as the comfortable days of social clubs and dinners.

Though little more than an afterthought these days, from the 1890s through the 1920s, postcards were by far the most popular means of communication.

Many of the postcards produced during this "golden age'? can be considered works of art, when postcard photographers traveled the nation coast to coast snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and taking photographic portraits of locals only too happy to pose for the camera. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, helped drive the Florida land boom of the early 20th century, with people all over the country seeing the sandy beaches and palm trees in the sun, and these surviving postcards can teach us important aspects of yesteryear that we may not find in history books.

A gay love triangle, drug deals, and a murder. Just another night in West Palm Beach in 1984?

Jeffrey Heagerty was like most young gay nineteen-year-olds in South Florida in the 1980s, commonly finding himself and his friends at the popular Kevin's Cabaret in West Palm Beach on Saturday nights. On one of those Saturday nights in 1984, Jeff vanished from the club, leaving his friends behind even though he was their ride home. His body was found in a canal the next morning and his car was missing, only to be found a month later, abandoned on the other side of town. Rumors of a love triangle, drug dealings and sexual encounters snarled police efforts at solving the case. The investigation stagnated and the case grew cold until the solution came from two unexpected sources: overlooked details in police photographs of Jeff's car and a mysterious letter from an inmate in the Palm Beach County Jail.

Indian Rocks Beach, Florida has a grand history. Join authors Authors Wayne and Nancy Ayers and Jan Ockunzzi as they uncover its legendary past.

According to legend, Indian Rocks got its name when Tocobaga Indians brought their ailing chief from inland Florida to drink from the area's sulfur springs, prized for their medicinal qualities. Their leader miraculously recovered, as the story goes, and the tribe returned each year to the place where large rocks surrounded the healing spring. The natural beauty of the barrier island that became Indian Rocks Beach was what attracted Harvey Hendrick to establish his homestead here in the mid-1890s. Years later, he recalled, ""I liked the place, I thought it was the most beautiful place on God's green footstool, and I think so yet."" The charm and character of this little seaside community is evident in these historic photographs, from the days when the old swing bridge was the center of activity, to the booming post-World War II era when tourists and residents proclaimed Indian Rocks Beach as their special place.

Your roadmap to Jewish life in South Florida!

A rich history and Jewish cultural tradition lie beneath the surface of South Florida. Beyond the stereotype of elderly Jews visiting sunny beaches, Florida boasts a distinctive Jewish population. The area is inhabited by Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews with roots in Spain or Turkey, and those from Cuba and other Latin American countries. This cultural mingling makes the Jewish way of life in South Florida so unique, featuring synagogues and eateries from Boca Raton, Palm Beach, and Miami. More than simply a travel guide, this book approaches each profiled location as an opportunity to bring to light the culture of the Jews that have made South Florida their home.

A fascinating history of Central Florida's DeLand, the ""Athens of Florida.""

Nestled in Central Florida between the northerly flowing St. Johns River and the alluring beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, DeLand has been described as the ""Athens of Florida."" Founded in 1882, DeLand has fought to maintain a small-town atmosphere even as development surrounds the tranquil city. Balancing a strong sense of community with a willingness to allow progress to knock at its door, DeLand is home to nationally ranked Stetson University, an assortment of inviting cafes, alluring unique shops, determined mom-and-pop stores, and architecturally significant buildings.