- Meet the pioneers of the Palm Beach area, the Treasure Coast, and Lake Okeechobee in this collection of well-told, fact-filled stories of the 1690s through the 1990s - Well-researched and dotted with photos from The Palm Beach Post archives - Jonathan Dickinson survived a shipwreck and hostile Indian attacks near Jupiter Inlet in 1696 - A quiet healer named Dr. Thomas Leroy Jefferson tended to the African-American community in the Styx, home to those who had come to help build Henry Flagler's railroad - Marian O'Brien was a founding leader of Clewiston and Moore Haven, where she made sure women had the right to vote even before the Nineteenth Amendment - A great addition to your collection of Floridiana

“In this riveting account, Frank moves beyond stories of recent development to uncover the deep history of a place profoundly shaped by mound-builders, slaves, raiders, and traders. This book will change the way you think about Florida history.”—Christina Snyder, author of Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America “Reveals that Old Miami seems a lot like New Miami: a place bursting with energy and desperation, fresh faces, and ancient dreams.”—Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida “A deep, intelligent look at the parade of peoples who dotted the north bank of the Miami River for thousands of years before Miami’s modern era.”—Paul S. George, author of Along the Miami River “A masterful history. A must-read for anyone who wants to learn about Miami.”—Arva Moore Parks, author of George Merrick, Son of the South Wind Formed seemingly out of steel, glass, and concrete, with millions of residents from around the globe, Miami has ancient roots that can be hard to imagine today. Before the Pioneers takes readers back through forgotten eras to the stories of the people who shaped the land along the Miami River long before most modern histories of the city begin. Andrew Frank begins the chronicle of the Magic City’s long history 4,000 years ago when Tequesta Indians settled at the mouth of the river, erecting burial mounds, ceremonial centers, and villages. Centuries later, the area became a stopover for Spanish colonists on their way to Havana. Frank brings to life the vibrant colonies of fugitives and seafarers that formed on the shores of Biscayne Bay in the eighteenth century. He tells of the emergence of the tropical fruit plantations and the accompanying enslaved communities, as well as the military occupation during the Seminole Wars. Eventually, the small seaport town flourished with the coming of “pioneers” like Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler who promoted the city as a place of luxury and brought new waves of residents from the North. Frank pieces together the material culture and the historical record of the Miami River to re-create the fascinating past of one of the world’s most influential cities. A volume in the series Florida in Focus, edited by Frederick R. Davis and Andrew K. Frank

A Land Remembered has become Florida's favorite novel. Now this Student Edition in two volumes makes this rich, rugged story of the American pioneer spirit more accessible to young readers. Patrick Smith tells of three generations of the MacIveys, a Florida family battling the hardships of the frontier. The story opens in 1858, when Tobias and Emma MacIvey arrive in the Florida wilderness with their son, Zech, to start a new life, and ends in 1968 with Solomon MacIvey, who realizes that his wealth has not been worth the cost to the land. Between is a sweeping story rich in Florida history with a cast of memorable characters who battle wild animals, rustlers, Confederate deserters, mosquitoes, starvation, hurricanes, and freezes to carve a kingdom out of the Florida swamp. In this volume, meet young Zech MacIvey, who learns to ride like the wind through the Florida scrub on Ishmael, his marshtackie horse, his dogs, Nip and Tuck, at this side. His parents, Tobias and Emma, scratch a living from the land, gathering wild cows from the swamp and herding them across the state to market. Zech learns the ways of the land from the Seminoles, with whom his life becomes entwined as he grows into manhood. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series

A vivid biography of the nineteenth-century society couple who helped turn a tropical wilderness into a Gilded Age paradise. Palm Beach’s sunny and idyllic shores had humble beginnings as a wilderness of sawgrass and swamps only braved by the hardiest of souls. Two such adventurers were Fred and Byrd “Birdie” Spilman Dewey, who pioneered in central Florida before discovering the tropical beauty of Palm Beach in 1887. Though their story was all but lost, this dynamic couple was vital in transforming the region from a rough backcountry into a paradise poised for progress. Authors Ginger Pedersen and Janet DeVries trace the remarkable history of the Deweys in South Florida from their beginnings on the isolated frontier to entertaining the likes of the Flaglers, Vanderbilts, Phippses, Cluetts, Clarkes, and other Palm Beach elite. Using Birdie’s autobiographical writings from her bestselling books to fill in the gaps, Pedersen and DeVries narrate a chapter in Florida’s history that has remained untold until now.

A Florida Pioneer is a book about the adventurous life of Josef Henschen, Swedish immigrant to Florida in the 1870s. Henschen was a young medical student in Upsala, Sweden when, in 1871, he was asked to recruit and bring over a large group of Swedish laborers to Florida. The group he brought went to work at Henry S. Sanford's plantations in Seminole County. There the Swedes founded the New Upsala settlement, and many Swedish descendants in central Florida have their roots in this colony. Josef fell in love with Florida and stayed there for nearly sixty years, until his death in 1930. He became one of the four financiers of the Orange Belt Railroad, and he gave the city of St. Petersburg its name. This book contains many of Josef's letters and paints a fascinating picture of Florida pioneer life. Gary Momino, Professor of History at the University of South Florida, calls A Florida Pioneer "An extraordinary document...a historic treasure."

The history of the Palm Beach area, the Treasure Coast, and Lake Okeechobee is one of turbulence, growth, and especially change. Meet the visionaries and outlaws, physicians and poets who shaped this region of southeast Florida from the 1690s through the 1990s. Author William McGoun's stories are sometimes hair-raising, sometimes amusing, and always engaging. Well researched and dotted with photos from The Palm Beach Post archives, this collection of mini-biographies reads like a who's who of Florida history.