New Book Releases

African Americans of Sanford have served in the building of this great nation since their participation in the three Seminole Wars. They were a large part of the labor force that earned Sanford the distinction of "Celery Capital of the World." The residents of Sanford and its surrounding communities of Goldsboro, Georgetown, Bookertown, and Midway/Canaan work tirelessly to nurture and protect their families. Their stories are a vital ingredient in Sanford's folklife performance, "Celery Soup." Crooms Academy gave service to African Americans in the area from its founding in 1926 until integration in the late 1960s and was the central force in connecting local communities. Its graduates have entered education, law, medicine, politics, engineering, entertainment, and other specialized areas. African Americans of Sanford recognizes and applauds those who have helped to preserve Sanford's history as well as those who have participated in making it.

Travel the roads and waterways of Delray Beach history through lovingly collected postcards. In the 1890s, a diverse group of settlers began gathering on the southeast coast of Florida to build a new community. These pioneers sought the freedom, adventure, and economic opportunity provided by the new Florida East Coast Railway. Delray's population was distinctive for its respect for education, early interest in the arts, love of sports, religious faith, and bonds of community. By the 1920s, the farming-fishing settlement had blossomed into a sparkling resort town with a thriving winter colony. This unfolding story of Delray Beach and the surrounding vicinity is presented from the Delray Beach Historical Society Archives and private collections.

Spanish explorers arrived in Tampa Bay in the 16th century.

Jews were first allowed to live in Florida in 1763 and less than 100 years later, Tampa became a city. The arrival of the railroad and the cigar industry in the 1890s attracted immigrants. Many were Jews, who helped propel growth, especially in Ybor City, where they owned more than 80 businesses. Over the decades, Jews participated in civic and Jewish organizations, the military, politics, and in developing Tampa as a sports center. Today, with about 23,000 Jews in Tampa, there are fifth-generation residents who represent the continuity of a people who contribute vibrancy to every area of the community.

This pictorial history of Lake Okeechobee illustrates the people, places, and events that have shaped the area's cultural and natural history.

From the Calusa Indians to the travelers who used boats for transport in the early 1900s and up to the prosperous farms and cattle ranches of today, the Everglades has evolved into a mecca for fishing, birding, and hiking. The smell of orange blossoms entices the settler to an untamed land where bears, deer, and snakes still inhabit the wilderness and where alligator hunting and fishing are still popular sports. Lake Okeechobee is 110 miles around from Pahokee to Canal Point, Okeechobee, Lakeport, Moore Haven, Clewiston, South Bay, and Belle Glade. To cross Florida from the Atlantic to the Gulf, a boat starts in Stuart and ends at Port Mayaca, crossing Lake Okeechobee to the Moore Haven lock and out the Caloosahatchee River past Lake Hicpochee and west to Fort Myers. Around Lake Okeechobee presents images from the Clewiston Museum, Lawrence E. Will Museum, state archives, and private collections, painting a history of the boom and bust, the boaters and farmers, and the cattlemen and ranchers who have settled and raised their families here.

Boynton Beach, located on South Florida's Atlantic coast, is known as the "Gateway to the Gulf Stream." Ernest Hemingway once called these great ocean currents the last wild country left. Fishermen who study navigational charts understand that Boynton Beach is unique as the closest community to the Gulf Stream. Just minutes from the Boynton Inlet, water reaches a depth of 800 feet. Maj. Nathan Boynton came to the area in 1894, built a hotel, and envisioned a prosperous future for the idyllic village. Today Boynton Beach celebrates its diverse population, ideal location, and a rich and fascinating history that includes Henry Flagler's railroad, land booms, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and steadfast farmers.